Gov’t reaffirms positive outcomes of talent recruitment programs

Lawmaker Ron Lam urged Macau authorities to speed up the release of local job opportunities following the departure of non-local workers.
He also requested updates on the city’s talent recruitment programs, to which the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) said the first two phases had produced positive results and that the optimized third phase would be gradually rolled out this year.
Lam’s written interpellation revealed that Macau’s unemployment rate in August reached 7,300, with 2,400 individuals aged 25 to 34 and 1,700 aged 35 to 44, together accounting for over half of the unemployed population.
Most of these individuals previously worked in the “Wholesale and Retail Trade” and “Entertainment, Gaming, and Other Services” sectors.
The inquiry to the DSAL also provided figures for the city’s six gaming operators and their affiliates, indicating that as of March this year, they had employed 79,187 local workers and 32,950 non-local workers.
While local employment saw a modest increase of just 3% since December 2022, non-local employment surged by 77%, continuing an upward trend.
In response, the director of DSAL, Chan Un Tong, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to dynamically adjust employment permits for non-local workers to prioritize local residents in the job market. Comparing current figures to those from pre-pandemic levels in 2019, he noted that the number of non-local workers stood at 183,328, a decrease of 13,210 from December 2019.
Notably, the number of non-local workers in clerical and sales and shop attendant roles fell by 635 and 1,092, respectively, since December 2019.
By industry, non-local workers in the “Wholesale and Retail Trade” and “Entertainment, Gaming, and Other Services” sectors decreased by 2,343 and 4,320, respectively. In total, the number of non-local employees in the six gaming operators and their affiliates was 30,340, down by 3,674 from December 2019.
In their written reply, the authorities emphasized their commitment to preventing the importation of non-local workers from undermining local residents’ employment opportunities and labor rights.
This includes prioritizing local worker referrals to businesses when processing non-local worker applications and monitoring the outcomes of these job-matching initiatives. According to Chan, as of August, the authorities had successfully assisted 7,471 individuals in securing employment through various job-matching programs.
Lam’s inquiry also raised concerns about the government’s talent recruitment programs, highlighting that among the last two groups of recruits totaling 755 individuals, only a small fraction was classified as high-end or outstanding talents. Instead, the majority – over 80% –were identified as advanced professionals.
“Many of these recruits were primarily focused in specific sectors, such as culture, sports, and modern finance,” he stated, suggesting that the recruitment may not fully align with the broader industrial needs of Macau.
Chan clarified the criteria for talents brought in through the Advanced Professionals Programs, emphasizing that talents introduced through these programs must align with Macau’s key industrial development needs and address local market shortages.
These individuals are required to have secured employment or a job offer from a local employer, with compensation meeting specified standards, and must engage in work appropriate to their qualifications.
The director also revealed that the government is optimizing the third phase of such programs, set for a steady rollout this year.
This will involve adjustments to specific settings and evaluation criteria, enhancements to the application platform, streamlined approval processes, and improvements to the Talent Development Committee’s website. Further details will be announced in due course, he noted.