After a year of “anti-China” campaign, Hong Kong has been suppressed by the Chinese Communist Party, and the fourth wave of the new epidemic has resumed, Hong Kong’s job market has been hit, with the tourism, aviation and catering industries bearing the brunt. According to the Census and Statistics Department, the unemployment rate for October 2020-12 has risen to 6.6%, a 16-year high, with an unemployed population of 245,800.
According to reports, the unemployment rate in consumer and tourism-related industries, such as retail, accommodation and food services, was 10.6%; among them, the unemployment rate in food service activities rose to 13.8%.
The co-founder of the senior Chinese restaurant Duddell’s Club, Luo Yangjie, said that the Hong Kong government’s “job preservation” plan ended in November last year, when the fourth wave of the epidemic hit, coupled with early December last year, the Hong Kong government again tightened restrictions on gathering, restricting restaurants to two people a table and banned evening dine-in, many restaurants to close down or lay off staff. He said that restaurants can do some business during the day, but bars, nightclubs, etc., have not been open for 160 days.
Hong Kong Retail Management Association Chairman Tse Yau On Yee said earlier this month that 44% of the member companies branches in December last year when the lease has not expired has chosen to close down, another more than 40% of the branches after the end of the lease to close down. The survey also said that in the first quarter of this year, more than 58% of member companies believe that up to 20% of their stores will close down. Xie Qiu An Yi also said that there are too many uncertainties, the first quarter of this year, many companies said “after the New Year”, then will close store.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan pointed out in the weblog that the local labor market is under pressure, the Bankruptcy Administration recently released figures that the number of bankruptcy petitions last year nearly 8,700, an increase of 6.6% year-on-year; in addition, the submission of mandatory winding-up petitions have about 450 cases, an increase of 7.2% year-on-year. December Hong Kong purchasing managers index back to the contraction range, SMEs tend to pessimistic business atmosphere.
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