Fresh graduates push local unemployment rate higher in April-June

[Photo: Renato Marques]

The unemployment rate among local residents between April and June increased slightly by 0.1 percentage point to 2.4%, according to information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

DSEC noted that this increase was recorded compared with the previous three-month period (March-May).

The bureau attributed the increase in the unemployment rate to a rise in the number of new labor market entrants seeking their first jobs.

The proportion of new labor market entrants seeking their first jobs rose by 3.4 percentage points from the previous period to 12.7% of unemployed residents.

DSEC also noted that the underemployment rate among local residents (2.3%) decreased by 0.1% during the same period.

Among unemployed residents (7,100), the majority seeking new jobs were previously employed in retail trade and the gaming sector, DSEC said. Regarding underemployed residents (6,800), the majority were working in business activities and the transport and storage sector.

DSEC remarked that the general unemployment rate (1.9%) increased by 0.1 percentage point from the previous period, while the general underemployment rate (1.8%) decreased by 0.1%, a trend also observed among local residents.

In the same release, DSEC noted that the median monthly employment earnings of employed residents and the employed population in the second quarter of 2026 were MOP20,500 and MOP18,000, respectively.

The Employment Survey covered all residential units in the Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane, excluding collective living quarters such as dormitories and elderly care homes.

Nonresident workers who work in Macau but live outside the territory were also excluded.

According to preliminary estimates based on movement records, an average of about 111,500 Macau residents and nonresident workers worked in Macau but lived outside the territory during the reference period.

The total labor force, comprising those living outside Macau and those living in Macau (383,600), increased by 2,800 from the previous period to 495,100. This means that rough estimates indicate that around 22.5% of Macau’s labor force lives outside the territory.