Labor shortage in Q2 drives up demand for manpower

The survey on manpower needs and wages for the second quarter (Q2) of 2024 has shown that the demand for manpower continued to increase amid the recovery of the local economy, the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) said in a release note.

According to the survey that covered Wholesale & Retail Trade; Transport, Storage & Communications; Security Activities, and Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities, at the end of Q2, the number of persons engaged in Wholesale & Retail Trade (68,846) grew by 7.7% year-on-year, with those working in Retail trade (44,013) rising by 8.9%.
Concurrently, the number of persons engaged in the Transport, Storage & Communications sector (14,505), Security Activities (13,033), and Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities (964) also went up by 0.8%, 1.9%, and 2%, respectively.

At the end of this period, the average earnings (excluding irregular remuneration) of full-time employees in Security Activities rose by 9.2% y-o-y to an average of MOP13,550. This was justified mainly by the increases in salaries and working hours.

In addition, earnings of those in the Transport, Storage & Communications sector, and Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities went up by 3.5% to MOP21,990 and 3% to MOP19,740 respectively.

On the other hand, the earnings of those engaged in Wholesale & Retail Trade activities decreased by 1.6% to an average of MOP14,570 per month.

Regarding job post vacancies at the end of Q2, the Retail Trade had some 1,627 vacant posts, a figure that represented a decrease of 911 y-o-y. The same sector showed a job vacancy rate of 4.3%, an employee recruitment rate of 3.9%, and an employee turnover rate of 6.1%, dropping by 2.9, 2.1, and 0.1%, respectively. This result implies that the vacant posts in Retail Trade have been gradually filled over the past year.

As for the Transport, Storage & Communications sector, the number of job vacancies was 913, increasing by 128; the job vacancy rate was 6.5%, the employee recruitment rate 8.6%, and the employee turnover rate was 9.2%, showing respective growth by 0.7, 2.3 and 3.4%. These figures indicate that at the end of June this year there were still many vacant job posts to be filled in the sector.