The unemployment rate of local residents rose 0.1 percentage point to 2.5 per cent in the July-September survey period from the June-August period, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced on Monday.
Macau’s general unemployment rate comprising local residents and non-resident workers remained unchanged at 1.8 per cent.
The total labour force amounted to 394,400 and the labour force participation rate stood at 70.2 per cent in July-September. Total employment was 387,100, while the number of employed residents totalled 281,000, down by 200 and 500 respectively from the June-August period.
The number of unemployed rose by 200 to 7,300. With fresh graduates entering the labour market, the proportion of new labour market entrants looking for their first job rose by 1.7 percentage points to 21 per cent of the total number of unemployed.
In the third quarter, the general jobless rate (1.8 per cent) and local residents’ unemployment rate (2.5 per cent) increased by 0.1 and 0.2 percentage points respectively from the previous quarter.
According to the Macau Post Daily, total employment dropped by 100 quarter-on-quarter, of which the number of employed residents went down by 1,200. Employment in gaming and junket businesses (84,900) fell by 2,200 quarter-on-quarter, while that in the wholesale and retail sector (41,800) rose by 2,000.
The median monthly employment earnings of local residents and non-resident workers in the third quarter increased by 700 patacas quarter-on-quarter to 17,000 patacas. The median monthly earnings of those employed by gaming-cum-junket businesses and the construction sector stood at 20,000 patacas and 16,000 patacas respectively.
The median monthly earnings of employed residents remained unchanged in the second and third quarters, at 20,000 patacas.
