◼ BUSINESS Bloomberg Businessweek January 27, 202016
and beverage sector at 5.2% and 6.2%, respec-
tively. Overall unemployment is 3.3%.
Official figures don’t capture the full extent of the
job destruction because they don’t count part-time
workers. In the restaurant sector, tens of thousands
of them have been let go or told to take unpaid leave
until the economy recovers, says Kwok Wang-hing,
chairman of the 10,000-strong Eating Establishment
Employees General Union. Thousands more have
lost jobs permanently at some 400 restaurants
that have closed in the past several months, most
of them cha chaan teng, or cafes serving affordable
fare such as fried noodles and fried rice. About 1,
union members are owed a combined HK$10 mil-
lion ($1.3 million) from employers who simply closed
up and disappeared without paying severance.
“Everyone feels lost. With thousands of shops to
close after the Chinese New Year, many are worried
about their future job prospects,” says Kwok, who
works mornings in a dim sum restaurant. “We can’t
really fight for any rights right now, so there’s noth-
ing we can do until the situation improves, when we
can negotiate with the employers.”
Several restaurants that cater to foreigners andthe well-heeled of Hong Kong have also closed,
among them the vegan refuge Grassroots Pantry;
BlackSalt Tavern, an Indian fusion spot; and Happy
Paradise, a high-end take on the traditional Hong
Kong eatery that hosted the late TV celebrity chef
Anthony Bourdain on his last trip to Hong Kong. The
restaurant, now operating solely as an event space,
sits on a block in the Central District where at least
half a dozen empty storefronts are plastered with
for-rent stickers, while dress shops have large signs
advertising deep discounts.
A 22-year-old unemployed supporter of the pro-
tests, who gives his name as Chau, says he lost his
HK$10,500-a-month job at a bakery a few months
ago because of the slowing economy. The manager
fired him at the end of his 6 a.m.-to-3 p.m. shift and
told him not to return the next day. “I didn’t expect
it coming at all,” he says. A steady job had allowed
him to procure his first credit card. Now he won’t be
able to pay for the purchases he’d charged. “It really
screwed me up,” says Chau, who was forced to turn
to his parents for help.
Mrs. Chan, who declined to give her full name,
shares a 300-square-foot apartment in publicQ1’18 Q4 ’Startof
protests
6%4 %2 %▼HongKong
unemployment rate
Overall
Retail, food service,
and accommodation▼ The iconic Jumbo
restaurant has cut staff
and reduced its hours