Hong Kong's job vacancies increased in most sectors in September year-on-year, but a drop in demand for manual workers at construction sites and in the manufacturing sector, Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department said Monday.

Remarkable increases were observed in the transport and storage sector (150 percent), the wholesale trade (120 percent) and the retail trade (97 percent).

But declines in vacancies were observed in the medical, health-care and related services and the welfare and community services fields.

The selected major sectors as a whole employed 2,273,600 people,a 2.7 percent increase representing 60,100 posts over a year before. The import and export trade engaged 510,200 people, followed by the retail trade with 219,400 people, business services sector with 202,000, and restaurants with 181,300.

Employment increases were recorded in restaurants, hotels and boarding houses, retail trade, transport and storage sector and business services. There were declines in construction sites and manufacturing sector.

For all the selected major sectors taken together, the total number of vacancies in the private sector rose 55 percent to 32,830.

Included were 7,010 from the import and export trade, 4,160 from the business services sector, 3,270 in retail trade, and 3,160 in financing and insurance.

Source: Xinhua