The unemployment rate in Hong Kong rose to 3.8 percent in the September-November period, from 3. 5 percent in the August-October quarter, official figures released?on Thursday indicated.

The jobless rate climbed further because of the slowdown in business activities in both the domestic and external trade sectors, said the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

With the adverse effect of the financial turmoil increasingly feeding through to the labor market, the figure is expected to rise further in the coming months, said the department.

Increases in the unemployment rate were mainly seen in the retail, construction, manufacturing, communications, and import- export trade sectors.

HKSAR government Secretary for Labor Welfare Matthew Cheung said that the deteriorating external economic environment will inevitably dampen the local employment market.

Job preservation and creation top the Government's agenda, he said, adding that more than 60,000 jobs will be created next year by expediting major infrastructure and minor improvement projects, recruiting civil servants and creating temporary jobs.

(Xinhua News Agency December 19, 2008)