Unemployment in Hong Kong has fallen to 6.5 per cent, its lowest level for three years, according to government figures released Tuesday. The jobless rate for October to December 2004 fell by 0.2 per cent on the figure for last month's previous September to November quarter, a government spokesman said. The number of people out of work in the former British colony now stands at 227,00 out of a working population of 3.32 million, the spokesman said. Unemployment in Hong Kong has fallen steadily since peaking at nearly 9 per cent in the aftermath of the SARS outbreak in 2003 which devastated the territory's economy. House prices have climbed after a seven year slump and the Hang Seng Index has climbed to its highest levels since the late 1990s as the economy has boomed. The government spokesman said the upturn could be expected to continue as hundreds of thousands of tourists pour into the territory for February's Chinese New Year holiday.
