'Businesses And The Jobless Need More Help'

The government has been urged to quickly provide more help for workers and businesses so they can make ends meet amid this wave of Omicron outbreak.

Speaking on an RTHK programme on Friday, unionist lawmaker Lam Chun-sing said he fears the unemployment rate will continue to rise and eventually break the 7.2 percent record set in February last year.

Lam was speaking a day after the government said the latest jobless rate climbed to 4.5 percent, a six-month high.

The lawmaker, who heads the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, said more people may lose their jobs if authorities cannot rein in the outbreak by June.

"Although nighttime dine-in was also suspended [in February], what's different now compared to last year is that many restaurants have now closed down... they were still open for lunch last year," he said.

Speaking on the same programme, Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Bill Tang said Hong Kong could be seeing “the first wave of an unemployment tsunami”, saying many workers and businesses are very pessimistic.

He noted that while some people, such as those in the performing arts sector, haven’t lost their jobs, they are unable to earn a living either because of Covid restrictions.

Both legislators called on the government to announce details of its planned HK$10,000 unemployment subsidy sooner, to help people who desperately need financial help.

Meanwhile, an economics associate professor at the Chinese University, Terence Chong, told the programme that the government should consider relaxing anti-epidemic rules, and allow some businesses that were ordered to suspend operation to reopen.

He said the government’s subsidy for the businesses is far less than their normal revenue, and the money won’t stop them from laying workers if the economy does not recover.