Hong Kong's financial chief John Tsang Wednesday expects Hong Kong's unemployment rate to reverse its downtrend as the economy slows down, and the city's government should be well prepared to take timely measures to lessen any impact on the community when there is an upward pressure on the unemployment rate.

Tsang said in his budget speech that the government will continue with the strategy which helped the city tackle the 2008 financial tsunami by stabilizing the employment market through the supportive measures for enterprises and providing suitable employment support and training directly for the working population.

Tsang proposed to earmark another 220 million HK dollars (about 25.8 million U.S. dollars) to support the Construction Industry Council in enhancing manpower training after a 100 million HK dollars' funding in 2010.

He said the measures have started to deliver results as the construction workforce has grown to its present strength of more than 300,000, easing the problem of an aging workforce and succession gap faced by the industry in recent years.

Tsang said the Labor Department's Recruitment Center for the Catering Industry and Recruitment Center for the Retail Industry will strengthen liaison with employers in both industries to better serve their recruitment needs as the two sectors have been providing employment opportunities for the grass roots.

The Vocational Training Council will set up an International Cuisine College with a capital expenditure of 500 million HK dollars, and is expected to admit its first cohort of students in the 2014-2015 academic year, providing more than 2,000 places a year, Tsang said.

He said the government will also inject 100 million HK dollars into the Enhancing Employment of People with Disabilities through the Small Enterprises Project, under which the funding is granted to non-government organizations to set up small enterprises employing people with disabilities.

In addition, the Employees Retraining Board will offer 130,000 training places in 2012-2013, and allocate additional resources for the provision of placement-tied courses for the unemployed and people seeking employment, Tsang said.

"The government will remain vigilant against any serious deterioration in the economic situation and its impact on employment," Tsang said. "When necessary, we shall provide further funding to adjust and enhance the relevant employment programs."