The restaurant and retail sectors are the primary source of new jobseekers in Macao, according to the latest data from the Statistics and Census Service (known by its Portuguese initials DSEC).
This trend aligns with the dramatic slowdown experienced in the retail and F&B sectors last year, with the DSEC reporting that the number of unemployed individuals rose by 600 from the previous period – reaching 6,800 – with a significant portion coming from these industries.
The general unemployment rate in Macao for the rolling three-month period between December 2024 and February 2025 increased by 0.2 percent from the November 2024 to January 2025 period, reaching 1.8 percent.
The unemployment rate for local residents – that is, excluding migrant workers – also climbed by 0.2 percentage points, hitting 2.3 percent of the population. DSEC attributed this rise to the “relatively large number of people [looking] for jobs after the holidays.”
[See more: Latest data on Macao casino employment released]
First-time job seekers also saw an increase, rising by 1.9 percent and now making up 12.7 percent of Macao’s total number of unemployed.
However, there was a notable decline in underemployment, particularly in the real estate sector. The number of underemployed dropped by 800 to 4,200 when compared with the previous period, which DSEC described as a “notable decline” in those engaged in real estate-related activities.
The labour force totalled 381,700 for the period, while the number of people employed was 374,900. Compared with the previous period, these figures went down by 800 and 1,400 respectively.
In comparison with a year ago, the general labour force participation rate (67.1 percent), the general unemployment rate (1.8 percent) and the general underemployment rate (1.1 percent) decreased by 0.6, 0.4 and 0.2 percentage points respectively.
The first draft of this article was edited by AI for conciseness and clarity, then manually checked by an editor.
