Macau's general unemployment rate for December 2019-February 2020 was 1.9 percent, while the unemployment rate of local residents was 2.6 percent, up by 0.2 and 0.3 percentage points respectively from the previous period (November 2019-January 2020), the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced today.
Macau's economy has been hit hard by the COVID-19 epidemic since late January.
Macau's labour force was 398,400, according to the bureau's latest employment survey covering the December 2019-February 2020 period. The labour force participation rate stood at 70.5 percent. Total employment was 390,900, while the number of employed residents totalled 283,400, down by 2,200 and 1,300 respectively from the previous period. Employment in the construction and restaurant sectors decreased.
The number of the unemployed was 7,500, an increase of 700 from the previous period. The proportion of new labour market entrants looking for their first job decreased by 3.9 percentage points to 10.5 percent of the total unemployed.
In comparison with December 2018-February 2019, the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate increased by 0.2 and 0.3 percentage points respectively, while the labour force participation rate dropped by 0.3 percentage points.
As regards household employment, the average number of employed persons per household was 1.7 last year, while the median monthly employment earnings per household amounted to 30,000 patacas (US$3,750). According to the bureau, both revised indicators held steady compared to 2018.
