Academic expects gambling industry hires, salary to remain low

An academic expects demand for new workers and salary levels in the gambling industry are likely to remain low, with the recovery and transformation of the industry set to take some time.
According to the government’s Statistics and Census Service, at the end of the second quarter of 2021, there were 55,768 full-time employees in the gambling sector, a decrease of 1,691 from the same period last year. Among them, croupiers totaled 24,643, down 701 year-on-year.
In June 2021, average earnings (excluding bonuses) of full-time employees in the gambling sector were MOP23,690, up by 2.1% year-on-year. Average earnings of croupiers rose by 3.5% in the same period to MOP19,950.
At the end of the second quarter, there were 56 job vacancies in the gambling sector, an increase of 31 vacancies year-on-year.
The employee recruitment rate (0.8%) and the employee turnover rate (1.8%) increased by 0.6 and 1.2 percentage points respectively, while the job vacancy rate was only 0.1%. These indicators reflect the ongoing relatively low level of labor demand in the gambling sector.
The academic, who refused to be identified, says that the city’s gambling industry is undergoing a structural transformation. He attributed this to mainland legal amendments on external gambling activities, as well as tightened supervision over funds, as cited in Macao Daily. Casinos in Macau are now seeing a shift from junkets to the main casino floor as their main source of income.
It is expected that this transformation will not be rapid, possibly taking more than a year. Junkets are therefore likely to see great pressure on their operations, and mass layoffs might be inevitable.
Some laid-off staff released to the market may be picked up by the six gambling concessionaires, but the remainder may face a long period of unemployment if they do not want to change careers.
These factors also mean that salary increases will be under downward pressure as well, the academic said.
Gambling concessionaires have been expressing their confidence in the city’s resilience, but are reducing budgets and lowering costs, especially in non-critical areas such as advertising, administration or even the hiring of non-resident workers.
Analysis by the academic on retaining a local workforce shows that this factor is considered a critical element in future concession renewal. Speculation exists that the concession renewal may be postponed, which the academic suggests may assist with stabilizing the employment market.
The academic emphasized that workers from the gambling industry may have difficulty shifting to different industries. Although the government offers remunerated training, it is only a temporary strategy.
Meanwhile, the city relies heavily on the service industry, which has also been hit hard by the economic downturn, meaning that it may not provide enough employment opportunities to absorb all the laid-off workers from the gambling industry.
As many small and medium sized enterprises are experiencing tight cashflow and mounting debt, the academic suggests that the government prepare a fourth round of financial support, or a further rise in the unemployment rate may eventuate.