About 40 per cent of 400 local workers have found employment through various job matching sessions organized by the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL), the department indicated.
DSAL organised a total of eight sessions from September 3 to October 8 for job positions in construction, retail trade, restaurants, hotels and security and cleaning services, with scheduled interviews between companies and candidates seeking employment in those areas.
The department contacted a total of 1,585 candidates who were looking for a job for the aforementioned professions to participate in the job matching session, but with only 548 promising to participate.
‘The remaining candidates either denied participating because they were not interested in the job or they are already employed, the remuneration is not in accordance with their expectations, or due to dissatisfaction with working hours, or even because they were unreachable,’ the department added.
The 170 residents that ended up being hired were contracted as administrative employees, administrative assistants, hotel receptionists, salespeople, beauty consultants, waitresses, cashier clerks, cooks, kitchen assistants, goods handlers, security guards, doormen, cleaning employees, washing dishes and building aids, with their remuneration said to be is in line with the level of the local market.
In the cases of those who were not employed the candidate was said to have not accepted the contract, demanded a higher remuneration, or was dissatisfied with the time and place of work, choice of specific professions, among other reasons.
‘DSAL again encourages candidates to adjust their mentality and engage in cooperation with DSAL in referring jobs, in order to increase the opportunities to be hired,’ the department noted.
The local unemployment rate has increased steadily since January of this year due to the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the general unemployment rate and the unemployment rate of local residents for the third quarter of this year reaching, 2.9 per cent and 4.1 per cent, respectively.
The largest reduction in employees was reported in the Gaming & Junket Activities and Real Estate & Business Activities sectors, according to Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) data.
