Hong Kong’s Jobless Rate Surged to 5.4% During Covid Wave

(Bloomberg) ― Hong Kong’s unemployment rate surged to 5.4% for the three months through April as the city’s Covid restrictions continued to weigh on businesses and keep people at home.

The jobless rate was higher than the 5% rate expected by economists in a Bloomberg survey. The rate was the highest since June 2021, when unemployment also reached 5.4%. The underemployment rate rose to 3.8% from 3.1%, the Census and Statistics Department said in a report.