According to data published by Macau’s Human Resources Office (GRH), there were 181,436 non-resident workers in the territory at the end of March.
The figure represents a slight decline of 0.37 percent from the end of February (182,109) but almost no change over that recorded at the end of January (181,415).
Over the last six months, the number of non-resident workers has remained mostly stable at just over 180,000, growing or shrinking slightly each month, in contrast to the surge in numbers recorded between 2010 and 2015.
This bottoming-out reflects the gaming slowdown and the delays in opening the new gaming resorts in Cotai, which are currently slated for later this year and in 2017.
Local economist José Sales Marques told the Times that the number of non-resident workers in Macau of recent times is determined by two conflicting forces: the gaming slowdown and the rise in the construction of new resorts.
“There has been a huge increase in the past, due to the convergence of the two elements, as well as supporting industries like restaurants and retail,” said Sales Marques.
“The demand for non-resident workers will slow down with the economy, but on the other hand, construction works are still ongoing and most of the construction workers here are non-residents,” added Sales Marques, who is also president of the Institute of European Studies of Macau.
At the end of March 2016, non-
resident workers were mostly involved in the hotel and restaurant sector (47,441), the construction sector (43,708) and in domestic work (23,928).
In relation to the geographical size of the territory and its current population density, Sales Marques said there must be an optimum number of non-residents. However, he also pointed to the possibility of more non-residents living in Zhuhai while working in the MSAR.
“If we consider the structural features of Macau, there must be an optimum number, but I haven’t seen any studies that identify where this might be […] I expect it to start increasing again later this year with the opening of new resorts,” he explained.
The leading countries of origin for non-resident workers remained mainland China (116,356), the Philippines (25,015), and Vietnam (14,813).
Asked about allegations that the government and the GRH are tightening the process of obtaining work permit allocations, Sales Marques believes that it could harm the MSAR’s prospects for economic diversification.
“The policy should be the contrary,” he said. “Macau needs more professionals in order to diversify, so I am in favor of a policy contrary to the tightening because there is no economic reason to justify this.” Daniel Beitler
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