HONG KONG, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Most sectors in Hong Kong are expecting a more unfavorable business situation in the first quarter than in the previous one due to the economic downturn's impact, the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong revealed in its latest survey here Friday.
According to the findings of the Quarterly Business Tendency Survey by the Census and Statistics Department, business people in the city are generally less gloomy about the job situation compared with the economic prospects.
The department said business situations across a range of sectors in Hong Kong have worsened markedly recently, and the year will be challenging amid a deepening global economic downturn.
According to the survey, 59 percent of respondents in business sectors forecast a worse outlook while only 6 percent expected it to improve.
The accommodation and food services sector, mainly the hotels and restaurants industries, has the most unfavorable business outlook, with nearly 80 percent of respondents in the sector expecting business to deteriorate.
The construction, and import and export trade and wholesale sectors also took a grim look towards to the future.
The real estate sector is relatively more optimistic about both business expectations and job levels, particularly for respondents engaged in real estate maintenance management services, revealed the survey.
However, there are more respondents in the construction, financing and insurance, import and export trade and wholesale, and manufacturing sectors expecting a drop in employment in the first quarter.
In most sectors, significantly more respondents expect their selling prices or service charges to go down with a corresponding fall in their volume of business or output.
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