Statistics | Employment stable, newcomers to labor force up

The unemployment rate and the underemployment rate for the April-June period of 2016 remained stable in comparison to the rates in the March-May period, according to information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), at 1.9 percent and 0.5 percent respectively.
DSEC found that the total labor force stood at 397,800, equating to a labor force participation rate of 72.3 percent. Total employment increased by 1,800 from the March-May period, reaching 390,400, while the number of the unemployed reduced by 200 to 7,400. People new to the labor force and searching for their first job accounted for 9 percent of the total unemployed, up by 3.9 percentage points.
In the second quarter of 2016, the general unemployment rate (1.9 percent) remained unchanged compared to the previous quarter (January-March), while the unemployment rate of local residents (2.6 percent) decreased by 0.1 percentage points.
Total employment increased by 1,400 quarter-to-quarter, with those aged 35-44 rising by 1,200. Analyzed by industry, employment in gaming and junket activities (83,600) rose by 3,000, while those in restaurants and similar activities (26,200) dropped by 1,500.
Median monthly employment earnings held stable as in the previous quarter, at MOP15,000 in the second quarter. Those employed in the gaming and junket activities and construction sectors earned an average of MOP19,000 and MOP15,000 respectively. Moreover, median earnings of employed residents remained unchanged from the previous quarter, at MOP18,000.