SALES REPRESENTATIVES PROMOTE LOCAL-MADE NOODLES AT HONG KONG PRODUCTS EXPO, 2003-12-18 (photo)

Sales representatives promote local-made noodles at the annual Hong Kong Products Expo December 18, 2003. Hong Kong's unemployment rate fell back to levels last seen before the SARS outbreak in the three months to November, as hiring picked up in the territory's peak tourist season and as the economy continued to strengthen. The unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent in the three months through November on a seasonally adjusted basis, the fourth consecutive drop since it peaked at 8.7 percent in the April-July period, the government said on Thursday. This compares with eight percent in the three months through October. REUTERS/Bobby Yip BY/TW