Unemployment rate at 3.7%

The general unemployment rate for June-August 2021 was 2.8% and the unemployment rate for local residents was 3.7%, down by 0.1 and 0.2 percentage points respectively from the previous period (May-July 2021).
However, the underemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 3.7%, according to data from the Statistics and Census Service.
The labor force living in Macau totaled 387,000 and the labor force participation rate was 68.5%. Total employment was 376,300 and the number of employed residents totaled 279,600, up by 3,400 and 4,600 respectively from the previous period.
Analyzed by industry, employment in Gaming & Junket Activities and Restaurants & Similar Activities increased, while that in Wholesale & Retail Trade decreased.
The number of unemployed people dropped to 10,600, down 400 from the previous period. Most unemployed jobseekers previously worked in Gaming & Junket Activities and in the Construction sector. Meanwhile, with fresh graduates entering the labor market, the proportion of new entrants to the labor market seeking their first job increased 3.3 percentage points to 12.5% of the total unemployed.
The city saw around 4,300 fresh graduates enter the job market, according to the survey conducted by the General Association of Chinese Students of Macau (AECM).
Compared to new graduates in previous years, this year’s cohort will face a difficult global employment environment, which has been significantly affected by economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The AECM research suggests that the average monthly salary that employers offer fresh graduates is around MOP 10,000.
Meanwhile, the number of the underemployed rose by 1,000 from the previous period to 14,400, with the majority working in Gaming & Junket Activities and in the Construction sector.
In comparison with June-August 2020, both the unemployment rate and underemployment rate remained constant, while the labor force participation rate dropped by 1.7 percentage points.
Based on movement records, an average of about 83,900 people (both Macau residents and non-resident workers) worked in Macau while living outside the territory during the reference period. When these individuals are included, the total labor force stood at 470,900, an increase of 4,000 from the previous period.