Residents’ wages disconnected from cost of living, making it hard to make ends meet

[Photo; Ricaela Diputado]

The local economy continues to undergo fluctuating changes, creating struggles for young residents to find jobs with sufficient pay to cover the cost of living, despite frequent job-matching sessions held over recent years.

A local resident in her 30s, a communications graduate who has been looking for full-time jobs for nearly a year but is currently a part-timer, was recently offered a security guard post for MOP11,000 but found it insufficient and said it would only cover her basic needs such as housing and food.

“As a part-time employee earning MOP60 per hour, I find it challenging to meet my daily financial needs. The way our scheduling works makes things difficult; we’re only called in when they need us, and during slow times, we may be sent home early,” she told the Times.

Following her efforts in finding employment, she added, “The economic growth feels like it’s not reflecting in some residents’ lives. Sometimes, for part-timers, our pay is delayed. This can be stressful, especially when we have emergencies or bills to handle.”

Also speaking to the Times, a 24-year-old resident who now works for a Hong Kong company as an entry-level pastry chef says that her job pays a reasonable amount compared to the same job title she applied for at a hotel in Macau.

“For the same position I am working in now, the hotel was offering around MOP13,000, that’s MOP2,000 less than what I do now, and with one less day off per week.”

Due to the unstable economy and people choosing to find more stable and higher-paying jobs, she stated, “I haven’t looked for other jobs since, but will probably have to start looking in a couple of months, because sales aren’t doing so well, and a lot of people already left the company for something else.”

She continued, “But salary and benefits-wise, I guess it isn’t looking very bright. Right now I have six days of annual leave, and I know that Macau in general doesn’t offer much more. But I do know people are getting at least 10 days elsewhere. It’s still very little but better than six.”

On the other hand, some newly graduated residents find salaries sufficient for the cost of living in Macau.

Namely, a graduate engineer managed to receive offers from three different engineering companies.

“My job now took a while for them to contact me, so I was applying to three other engineering companies while waiting. All of them reached out again. As for salaries, it depends on where you work and what you do. I would say for residents, they are sufficient.”

She said that for this position as a junior or graduate engineer, the range of salaries offered is MOP15,000 to MOP22,000, with her receiving toward the higher end.

Meanwhile, another engineering graduate emphasized another inhibiting factor for Macau residents who do not speak Cantonese.

“Well, it’s quite hard to find a job in Macau if you’re not able to speak Chinese, that’s the reality. Especially if you’re really looking for a job specifically related to your field and the company might require Chinese.”

Despite this, she said, “I think the salaries offered are okay, it’s sufficient, but I hope it could be increased in the future since the cost of living in Macau is also rising!” Ricaela Diputado