July saw the highest number of non-resident workers employed in Macao since August 2020, according to the latest data from the Labour Affairs Bureau. The 182,307 total was almost 2,000 up from June’s figure, and represents a 95 percent recovery on pre-pandemic levels.
Since the beginning of this year, 5,646 migrant workers – also known as blue card holders after their identity documents – have started working in the SAR.
Mainland Chinese made up 68 percent of the total, followed by Filipinos at 16 percent, then Vietnamese at just over four percent.
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Hospitality remains by far the biggest sector for Macao’s blue card holders, employing 28 percent of them. Construction comes next, employing 16 percent. Domestic workers make up 15 percent of the non-resident workforce.
Earlier this month, Vietnam’s consul general for Hong Kong and Macao called on the territory’s government to make it easier for Vietnamese citizens to both work and travel there.
The Vietnamese community was almost double its current size prior to the pandemic. About half of the Vietnamese in Macao now work as domestic helpers.
