MACAO: Macao’s general unemployment rate for the first quarter increased by 0.2 percentage points to 2.1 percent from the previous period from December 2019 to February 2020, the special administrative region’s statistic service said, media reported on Monday.
The latest report issued from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate of local residents was 2.9 percent for the first quarter, up by 0.3 percentage points.
Meanwhile, the underemployment rate held steady from the previous period at 0.8 percent.
The total labour force was 405,800 and the labour force participation rate was 70.5 percent. The total employment rose by 6,500 from the previous period to 397,400, due to an increased number of non-resident workers living in Macao, as some of those initially living outside Macao moved back before the latest entry restrictions took effect on Feb. 20. The number of employed residents totaled 280,200, down by 3,200, the DSEC report added. The number of the unemployed increased by 1,000 from the previous period to 8,500. Meanwhile, the proportion of new labour market entrants seeking their first job decreased by 2.4 percentage points to 8.1 percent of the total unemployed. The number of the underemployed edged up by 200 to 3,200, with the majority working in the construction, transport and storage sectors. – Agencies
