Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong underlined yesterday that the government will not rule out the possibility of rolling out a third round of financial support measures for residents and businesses – in case something “unexpected” happens resulting in the need for the government to financially support residents and businesses.
Lei made the remarks when replying to oral interpellations by several lawmakers during a plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle.
Lei reaffirmed that the local government will continue paying close attention to the latest development of the COVID-19 pandemic and Macau’s socioeconomic condition, adding that the government will not rule out implementing new financial support measures that “accurately” benefit those in need.
Lei noted that the government will have to maintain its various types of regular expenditure on welfare for residents while it is expected to continue running a budget deficit this year, adding that therefore Macau’s civil society would have to think about how to make better use of the government’s financial reserves to help those really in need who are still adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lei underlined that the government will not exclude the possible implementation of the third round of financial support measures for residents and businesses, for which the government has allocated money “as a standby”. Lei reaffirmed that the third round of financial support measures would only be rolled out “if something unexpected happens”, but he was quick to add that the government hopes that it would not need to use the “standby” money.
Lei said that Macau is already lucky enough that currently a number of tourists visit Macau per day amid the unstable COVID-19 pandemic. Lei said that therefore the local government will have to continue its good performance in its COVID-19 prevention and control work so as to ensure that Macau’s COVID-19 prevention performance will continue to be very well recognised by the central government, in which case the recovery in the number of visitor arrivals to Macau “could be expected”, the policy secretary said.
Meanwhile, Lei also revealed during yesterday’s plenary session that local residents’ latest unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 of a percentage point to 3.8 percent.
Residents’ unemployment rate improves
According to Lei, local residents’ unemployment rate dropped by 0.2 of a percentage point to 3.8 percent in October-December 2020 compared to the previous survey period (September-November 2020).
The Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) is slated to announce the city’s latest employment statistics – the October-December period – today.
According to the bureau, Macau residents’ unemployment rate dropped by 0.1 of a percentage point to 4.0 percent in September-November 2020 compared to the previous survey period (August-October 2020).
According to the bureau, Macau’s general unemployment rate – which covers residents and non-resident workers – remained unchanged at 2.9 percent in September-November 2020.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong (centre) addresses yesterday’s plenary session in the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) hemicycle.
Photo: GCS
