Employment | Over 3,800 locals land jobs in 2020 through DSAL

The Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) helped over 3,800 locals secure jobs throughout 2020 and is pledging to continue to review and adjust the number of foreign workers in Macau.
DSAL said that they will prohibit foreign workers from signing up for certain vacancies — provided that there are sufficient and competent local jobseekers in Macau to take up the roles.
The aforementioned pledges have been made by DSAL in response to written queries raised earlier by lawmaker Leong Sun Iok.
Since 2020, DSAL authorities have vowed to offer vocational support to locals to help them land jobs. It will be running a recruitment fair, jointly hosted with the Grand Lisboa Palace, today as part of this mission.
In 2020, DSAL organized a total of 15 job-matching fairs, with 354 finding employment from the events, according to the official data.
Of the participants who failed to secure jobs at these job-matching fairs, around 75% of them lacked the necessary language skills, technical skills or knowledge required by the jobs for which they applied, DSAL explained.
DSAL stated that they would offer them counseling services in a bid to encourage the jobseekers following their failed attempts. Meanwhile, authorities will help them explore other career opportunities.
Another 21% of participants were unable to find employment at DSAL’s job fairs as the jobs offered fell short of their expectations.
The remaining 4% lost their chance as the vacancies they applied for had already been filled.
Macau’s unemployment rate of local residents stood at 3.8% from October-December in 2020, representing a mild drop of 0.2 percentage points from September-November last year.
There were 177,663 non-resident workers registered in Macau as of December 2020, down 9.6%, or 18,875 year-on-year, according to the latest statistics released by DSAL.
Earlier, the bureau vowed that it would explore job opportunities offered by Macau’s large enterprises and require companies to prioritize hiring locals if they are deemed fit for the position, with an intention to safeguard the job entitlements of locals.