Hong Kong's total employment in the private sector surveyed increased by 1.3 percent or 34,800 persons in December 2012 compared with the same period of a year earlier, the city's Census and Statistics Department announced Tuesday.

The figure released also shows that the total number of vacancies was 65,100, representing an increase of 18 percent or 9,950 over the same month of the preceding year.

Analyzed by major occupation category, private sector vacancies were observed mainly in the categories of service and sales workers (21,910 vacancies); associate professionals (12,460 vacancies); elementary occupations (10,900 vacancies); and clerical support workers (9,960 vacancies).

Compared with September 2012, the seasonally adjusted total employment and total vacancies in the surveyed industries increased by less than 0.05 percent and 6.2 percent respectively in December 2012.