Recruiting in China

HONG Kong's jobless rate held at the lowest point in almost six years, fueling wage growth and consumer spending among the city's seven million inhabitants.

Seasonally adjusted unemployment for the three months ending on December 31 was unchanged at 4.4 percent, the government said yesterday on its Website. That's the lowest since January 2001 and matched the median estimate of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The average jobless rate for last year fell to 4.8 percent from 5.6 percent in 2005.

Banks, transport companies and retailers are benefiting from proximity to the Chinese mainland and hiring workers to expand. A labor shortage has forced employers to raise salaries, helping to spur retail sales and increasing inflation.

"It's a very good number," said Vincent Kwan, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank Ltd in Hong Kong, predicting further declines. "With the jobless rate falling, salaries will rise and that should strengthen consumer spending."

Employment jumped by 9,100 to a record 3.52 million, while the number of people unemployed fell by 4,500 to a five and a half year low of 157,100, the government said.

The Brunswick Purchasing Managers' Index, a measure of economic activity, rose to 57.4 in December, the highest in more than six years, as companies received more orders and production increased.

Hong Kong's "buoyant" financial markets and economy helped to produce "very strong job growth," and unemployment is likely to fall to four percent by the end of the 2007, Kwan said.