Job seekers voice hope and worries amid tough market conditions

In a bid to prioritize local employment, the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) has partnered with the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) to host a three-day employment matching fair at the Macao Forum, featuring over 1,100 job vacancies across more than 400 categories.

The event has elicited a mix of optimism and concern among job seekers regarding the market.

The poster indicates that the first joint event organized by the two bureaus began at 10:30 a.m., with the Times arriving at the venue around 10 a.m.

At that time, participants were seen lining up outside, many dressed in formal attire and carrying résumés.

They waited for staff instructions before starting registration at 10:30 a.m.

Inside the venue, some job seekers were filling out application forms for their desired companies, while others continued to arrive and register.

Speaking to the Times yesterday morning before their job interviews at the fair, some of the five participants expressed optimism about their prospects, while others candidly shared concerns about the job market, highlighting the uncertainty and challenges they foresee in a competitive environment.

‘I feel quite concerned

Grace, aged 35, holds a bachelor’s degree and has been unemployed for over a year.

During this time, she has relied on odd part-time jobs, such as working as an usher at concerts, to make ends meet. Having graduated from university approximately 10 years ago, she hopes to find a job related to community organizations or administrative work, preferably Monday through Friday.

However, over the past year, she has attended around “eight to 10” job fairs organized by the government and submitted nearly “10 to 20” job applications through the Macao One Account platform, all of which have gone unanswered.

Facing the employment landscape in Macau, Grace admitted, “I really feel quite worried.”

She attributes her concerns to the current social atmosphere, particularly the lackluster hiring climate, which she connects to the economic downturn and the sluggish real estate market, leading to the closure of many small and medium-sized enterprises.

In the current job market, where finding work is “quite challenging,” especially due to the presence of non-local employees, Grace stated that her salary expectations “are not high,” aiming for approximately MOP12,000 to MOP15,000 to cover her basic living expenses.

She even considered moving to mainland cities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area or Hengqin, as encouraged by the current government, but ultimately abandoned the idea due to her age.

“All the government-sponsored career development programs have excluded people of my age, so even if I wanted to go, I wouldn’t know how to proceed.”

She added, “I applied for the government’s internship program, but they replied that it was only available for those who have recently graduated or for those under 35 years old. Even at 35, I couldn’t apply.”

In her view, Grace agrees with external claims that “non-local employees are making it difficult for teenagers or local residents in Macau to find jobs.”

She hopes the government will take steps to monitor certain labor markets “to determine whether there is truly a need for so many workers. If some of the tens of thousands of workers could be released, could the labor quota be reduced by a few thousand?”

“This would provide more employment opportunities for Macau’s younger generation, including in large corporations or financial institutions, rather than having them all pursue careers in the civil service,” she added.

‘Strong résumé and skills key to securing employment’

From an external perspective, the continuous increase in non-local workers has been identified as a factor contributing to the difficulty young local people face in finding employment.

This view is shared by recent university graduates, with one pointing out that while many young people are eager to work, this does not mean that all Macau residents share the same situation.

Benny, a recent graduate in marketing, is currently seeking jobs related to his field, such as graphic design, sticker design, or data analysis.

He believes that employment opportunities in the marketing industry in Macau are limited, primarily concentrated in casinos, with few positions available. As a newcomer to the workforce, he emphasizes that salary is not his top priority; instead, he focuses on gaining experience through work to better secure a more desirable position in the future.

Benny admitted that he was “not particularly clear” about the current employment situation in Macau, but he remains confident about finding work.

“If you have a good résumé and the ability to do the job, you should be able to find employment. However, the salary is still uncertain.”

However, commenting on the government’s measures to support the job market, Benny hopes the government will strengthen its efforts. He has noticed that many job positions require an unspecified number of years of work experience.

For a recent graduate, he states, “I think this is a bit challenging to achieve. For example, managerial-level positions typically require at least two to three years of relevant experience, but new graduates cannot possibly have that right away.”

Therefore, he suggests increasing the number of entry-level or junior-level positions to better support recent graduates.