There has been a dramatic slowdown in demand for employees in the wholesale and retail sector, with job vacancies in the fourth quarter falling by 829 year-on-year, to 1,591, according to the government’s latest Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages.
The number of people (68,554) working in wholesale and retail barely changed when compared with the same quarter in 2023.
Employees saw their collective wages drop by 0.1 percent year-on-year, while those of other sectors went up. On average, the monthly salaries earned by those in the wholesale and retail trade sector came to 14,730 patacas.
[See more: Macao’s retail sector is in trouble. How long can small businesses hold out?]
The manpower results reflect last year’s steep decrease in sales. After removing the effect of price changes, the average sales volume index in 2024 went down by 18.7 percent year-on-year.
Competition from the mainland is considered to be the main reason behind local retail’s decline. Many Macao residents have taken advantage of easier travel to the mainland to do their shopping in neighbouring Zhuhai, where prices are much lower.
Retailers are pinning their hopes on a new 10-week consumption campaign that will kick off on 24 March, with the government pledging to spend about 295 million patacas (US$36.86 million) to drive business to local shops.
