Hong Kong's jobless rate continued to drop over the past three months as the economic recovery continued, official data showed Thursday.

The unemployment rate in the global financial hub stood at 4.7% during the June-August period, down from 5% seen in between May and July, the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government said in a report.

The underemployment rate also went down from 2.4% to 2.2% during the same period.

Most sectors saw improved employment situations, the report said, citing visible jobless rate declines in the construction and transportation sectors.

The unemployment rates of the retail sector and the accommodation services sector fell by 0.4 and 0.5 percentage point from the preceding three-month period to 6.4% and 6.9%, respectively, in the June-August period. The rate of food and beverage services remained unchanged at 8.6%.

Looking ahead, Secretary for Labor and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said the labor market should see further improvement as the economy continues to recover and expects the government electronic consumption vouchers will continue to render support to consumption-related activities.

But Law still cautioned against the spread of the more infectious Delta variant in many places around the world and said to help realize a full economic recovery and further improvement in the labor market, it is essential for the community to strive towards more widespread vaccination.

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