Full-time employees in the wholesale and retail trade earned an average of MOP 14,490 in June, up by 7.7 per cent compared to December 2020 and 17.9 per cent year-on-year.
However, average earnings generally showed an increase due to the low base of comparison, given that the average earnings of full-time employees in June 2020 were dragged down by the large number of employees in many industries who were on unpaid leave.
At the end of the second quarter of 2021, the number of employees fell by 2.2 per cent year-on-year to 63,238. Among them, 39,375 were working in retail trade, which was down by 2 per cent, according to data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).
The transport, storage and communications sector employed 13,746 people, an increase of 3.6 per cent year-on-year. Average earnings of full-time employees rose by 5.1 per cent year-on-year to MOP 21,050.
The security industry employed 13,282 people, down by 1.8 per cent year-on-year. Average earnings of full-time employees went up by 3.8 per cent year-on-year to MOP 12,890.
There were 938 public sewage and refuse disposal workers, an increase of 1.3 per cent year-on-year. Average earnings of full-time employees in June grew by 3.2 per cent year-on-year to MOP 19,040.
This summer, the city saw around 4,300 fresh graduates entering the job market, according to the survey conducted by the General Association of Chinese Students of Macao.
A research study conducted by the group suggests that the average monthly salary employers can offer a fresh graduate is around MOP 10,000, due to the difficult global employment market.
According to a forecast by the Macao Human Resources Association, the local job market is unlikely to stabilise until 2023, the Macau Daily Times reported.
However, there was an increase in job vacancies in different sectors.
Job vacancies in the retail trade (1,765), the security business (1,302) and the transport, storage and communications sector (1,085) increased by 252, 272 and 407 respectively year-on-year.
In terms of qualifications, most of the vacancies in the security industry (96.9 per cent) and in the wholesale and retail trade (46.1 per cent) required only junior secondary education levels or lower, while 17.7 per cent of the vacancies in the transport, storage and communications sector required tertiary education.
Between May and July, the labour force living in Macao totaled 383,900, with a labour force participation rate of 67.9 per cent, 2.6 per cent less than in the previous quarter.
In relation to total employment numbers, 372,900 workers were recorded, with residents accounting for 275,000.
