There were 699 more non-resident workers in Macao in February compared to January, according to new figures from the Labour Affairs Bureau.
Of the total 152,577 such workers in Macao, the great majority, 106,191, were from mainland China. Workers from the mainland also saw the largest increase, up from 105,346 in January,
The numbers of Philippine and Vietnamese non-resident workers – the second and third largest non-resident communities respectively – dipped by some dozens each to 24,137 and 7,369. The fourth largest community, comprising Indonesians, grew by just over 30 workers to stand at 4,548.
Macao’s post-pandemic economic recovery is coming up against a shortage of labour, particularly in the hospitality sector.
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In February, Luis Heredia, president of the Macau Hotel Association, told Macao News that many workers left the sector during the pandemic.
“We need to have all the resources and the most important is human resources” he said.
“You can have the best product, but you need the human resources because they are the ones that will provide the smile, the standards, the guidance, and so on, and at this moment we’re not fully equipped. We’re lacking manpower and we need to deliver international standards”.
