Economics
Hong Kong Braces for Weak Jobs Data in Latest Blow to Economy
- Unemployment Rate Forecast to Hit Highest Level Since 2016
- Latest Reading Taken Before Effects of Coronavirus Outbreak
A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks on a street in Hong Kong on Feb. 11.
Photographer: Paul Yeung/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Hong Kong’s economy is set to take another hit with jobless data for January expected to show a fourth straight monthly increase, extending its longest stretch of gains in a decade after months of political unrest.
The city’s unemployment rate is forecast to have risen to 3.4% in January, the highest level since 2016, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. With the economy in recession, the jobless rate steadily ticked higher through the second half of last year.