The Statistics and Census Service released the results of the Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages for the fourth quarter of 2007. The survey coverage includes Wholesale & retail trade; Transport, storage & communications; Security activities; and Public sewage & refuse disposal activities, but excludes the own-account workers engaging in these industries. The survey results were extrapolated from the data obtained from 990 statistical units successfully interviewed, given as follows:

At the end of the fourth quarter of 2007, a total of 24,079 paid employees were working in Wholesale & retail trade, up by 13.2% over the same period of 2006, with 13,503 engaging in Retail trade. The average earnings (excluding bonuses and allowances) for full-time employees in December 2007 was MOP 8,045, representing a year-on-year increase of 10.5%. Sales representatives and Salespersons earned MOP 9,852 and MOP 6,965 respectively in average.

Transport, storage & communications took on 7,346 paid employees, which rose by 3.4% compared with the fourth quarter of 2006. In December 2007, the average earnings for full-time employees in this sector increased by 8.3% year-on-year to MOP 14,186. The average earnings for Passenger vehicle/truck drivers in Land transport was MOP 13,126.

Security activities had 3,704 paid employees, up by 5.6% year-on-year. The average earnings for full-time employees in December 2007 was MOP 6,362, up by 12.4% year-on-year, with Security guards earning MOP 5,966 in average.

There were 620 paid employees working in Public sewage & refuse disposal activities, up by 8.4% compared with the fourth quarter of 2006; the average earnings for full-time employees in December 2007 increased by 4.7% year-on-year to MOP 10,975.

At the end of December 2007, Wholesale & retail trade reported to have 4,078 vacancies, of which 2,333 were in Retail trade. Meanwhile, Transport, storage & communications and Security activities had 1,142 and 707 vacancies respectively.

In terms of recruitment prerequisites, 55.3% of the vacancies in Wholesale & retail trade and 36.0% in Transport, storage & communications required working experience; 61.0% and 27.4% of the vacancies in the above-mentioned industries required junior secondary or lower in educational attainment, while 87.6% of those in Security activities required primary education only; moreover, 48.5% of the vacancies in Wholesale & retail trade required, besides Cantonese, knowledge of Mandarin.