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Written by: Huang Yongyu
2020-11-17 19:10
Last update date: 2020-11-17 19:10
The new crown pneumonia has severely hit all industries. The unemployment rate remained high at 6.4% in the latest quarter. Among them, the unemployment rate of the transportation industry rose sharply, which rose by 0.6 percentage points from the figure announced last month, reaching 6.2%.
A transport trade union pointed out that the hardest hit areas included coach drivers and shipping workers.
According to the union's understanding, several companies have asked drivers to stay on duty with no pay starting in December, and their refusal will be regarded as resignation and layoffs.
Some scholars have analyzed that the sharp rise in the unemployment rate is related to Cathay Pacific’s previous sharp cut of 5,300.
The government announced the latest unemployment rate today (17th).
The unemployment rate from August to October remained at 6.4%, the same as the previous period (July to September), and tied for a record high in nearly 16 years.
Analyzed by industry, the unemployment rate in the transportation industry soared by 0.6 percentage points to 6.2%, which is close to a 17-year high.
As for the total unemployment rate in consumer and tourism-related industries (ie, retail, accommodation and catering services), this period fell 0.5 percentage points from the previous period to 11.2%.
Among them, the unemployment rate in the catering service activity industry fell to 14.8%.
▼Cathay Pacific layoffs▼
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Union: Cathay Pacific’s layoffs were "the first shot."
Chen Zhaohua, chairman of the Automobile and Transportation Industry Federation, said that coach drivers and shipping workers have been in the hardest hit areas. It is possible to "hang down the water", but after the end of the employment guarantee month, several large companies have stated that they require employees to stay on the job without pay from December and "make (consent) layoffs".
He believes that a wave of layoffs is coming, and he expects the government to introduce unemployment assistance.
Wang Yulai, the co-ordinator of the Trade Union Union, described that Cathay Pacific’s previous large-scale layoffs were "the first shot," and other airlines have subsequently indicated layoffs.
He also pointed out that aviation, logistics and other industries are affected by foreign epidemics, but the epidemic is still unclear, and companies are expected to announce layoffs one after another.
Scholars: The surge is related to Cathay Pacific layoffs
Li Zhaobo, a senior lecturer at the Business School of CUHK, believes that the sharp rise is related to Cathay Pacific’s earlier cut of 5,300.
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Li Zhaobo, senior lecturer at the Business School of CUHK, said that Cathay Pacific layoffs 5,300 employees in Hong Kong earlier, explaining that the unemployment rate in the transportation industry is the most severe, rising by 0.6 percentage points to 6.2%.
In addition, he pointed out that the retail, accommodation, and catering service industries have experienced a relatively significant decline, which is believed to be related to the easing of the epidemic, the government's relaxation of epidemic prevention measures, and the increase in consumption activities of the public.
He predicts that the unemployment rate will worsen after the end of the job-guarantee program, and will rise to a high of 7% early next year.
The unemployment rate remained at 6.4% from August to October, and the unemployed army approached 260,000
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Cathay Pacific Unemployment Rate
