The number of non-resident workers (NRWs) in Macao continues to rise, with an increase of about 5,000 between the end of June and the end of August, TDM reports.
There are currently more than 170,000 NRWs in the city, about 87 percent of the number in 2019 – the last year before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
The current total is a similar number to what was seen at the end of 2021 – and 19,000 more than were in the city at the start of 2023.
[See more: This is how many foreign passport holders came to Macao in the first five months of 2023]
The biggest three ethnic groups of migrant workers are mainland Chinese (118,292), Filipino (26,835) and Vietnamese (7,565).
NRWs hold “blue cards” granted by the authorities, which allow them to apply for work permits that are usually linked to a specific employer.
Between January 2020 and the end of March 2022, nearly 30,000 NRWs left the city. The majority returned to their hometowns due to economic pressures caused by Covid-19. These stemmed from the closure of restaurants, construction sites, small- and medium-sized enterprises, tourism shops and travel agencies.
