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| Increasing Employment Opportunities
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53. Hong Kong relies on the development of knowledge-based and high value-added economic activities for survival. However, for some members of our labour force, the pace of economic restructuring in Hong Kong may prove too fast. Some industries have ceased to be competitive and their workers need to switch to other trades in order to find a job. To address this problem, the Government will take action on three fronts :
- First, continue to promote industries such as tourism and the local community economy, which can provide jobs for those with comparatively low educational qualifications and skills. Our tourism sector is making significant progress while development of the local community economy has made a good start.
- Second, reinforce various vocational programmes. At present, we provide over $1 billion each year for various training and retraining opportunities for those in need. The newly-established Manpower Development Committee will examine how to optimise the use of resources and will launch new training programmes and formats to meet the needs of the labour market better.
- Third, in the face of economic restructuring and the persistently high rate of unemployment, provide additional non-recurrent funding of $270 million to ease unemployment. Of this, $50 million is earmarked for expansion of the Re-employment Training Programme for the Middle-aged, increasing
the number of places from 2 000 to 12 000. Another $26 million will be allocated for the provision of attachment training for 2 000 university graduates to enhance their job-related skills. The remaining $200 million, coupled with resources redeployed internally, will be used to extend about 3 600 temporary jobs. We will also enhance the training of local domestic helpers to improve their skills. In addition, we will launch new Intensive Employment Assistance Projects with an allocation of $100 million from the Lotteries Fund to assist longer-term Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients to get back to work.
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Economic Prospects
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54. Looking ahead, external economic factors will continue to have a mixed effect on the overall economy of Hong Kong in 2003. The EU and US economies will still be affected by the unstable situation in the Middle East, whereas the Mainland's accelerated institutional reforms will support the continued growth of its economy. We forecast that our GDP will rise 3% in real terms in 2003, and that, in the face of persistent deflation, the Composite Consumer Price Index will drop by 1.5% and the general price level of the economy by 2%. For the whole year, the economic growth rate is forecast to be 1% in nominal terms.
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55. Over the medium term period 2003 to 2007, we forecast a trend GDP growth rate of 3% per annum in real terms. There will be gradual easing of deflation. Over the same period, our forecast trend rate of overall price change in the economy is 0% per annum and the trend growth rate of nominal GDP is 3%.
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