Japan’s Q1 GDP increased 0.6 percent from the previous quarter and 2 percent compared to the same quarter in 2006. Japan’s jobless rate remained unchanged at 4 percent for the fifth straight month and dropped 0.2 percent from April 2006.

Australia’s April unemployment rate fell 0.1 percent from March to 4.4 percent, a drop of 0.7 percent compared to April 2006.

According to preliminary figures, Hong Kong’s Q1 GDP increased 0.5 percent from the previous quarter and 5.6 percent from the first quarter in 2006. Unemployment remained unchanged from the previous quarter and the same period a year ago at 4.3 percent, a nine-year low. A government spokesman says employment is expected to continue to grow thanks to a large group of college graduates entering the labor
market.

Singapore’s first-quarter GDP grew 8.5 percent from the previous year. The country’s Q1 unemployment rate rose 0.3 percent to 2.9 percent from the previous quarter and the same quarter a year ago.

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