Pandemic pushes up locals’ jobless rate to 3.1 per cent in Macau

MACAO, May 30, 2020, Macau Post Daily. Macau’s total labour force was 403,100 and the labour force participation rate stood at 70.0 percent in the January-March survey period, Macau Post Daily reported.

Total employment was 394,200 and the number of employed residents totalled 277,900, down by 3,200 and 2,300 respectively from the previous period. Employment in the transport and storage sector as well as the hotel and restaurants sectors recorded “relatively large decreases”, the statement said.

Number of the unemployed continued to rise, up by 400 from the previous period to 8,900. Among the unemployed population searching for a new job, most of them were previously working in the gaming, junket and construction sectors. The share of new labour market entrants seeking their first job decreased by 2.3 percentage points to 5.8 percent of the total unemployed.

Comared with February-April 2019 , the unemployment rate rose 0.5 percentage point, while the labour force participation rate remained unchanged.