Unemployment rate remains at 1.7 pct

The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 1.7 percent between April-June as compared to March-May. Figures released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) also show that 6,500 people were unemployed for this time period, with fresh labor force entrants,on the search for their first job, accounting for 15 percent of the total unemployed, up by 4.3 percent.
Compared to the first quarter of 2014, the general unemployment rate (1.7 percent) and unemployment rate of local residents (2.3 percent) for the second quarter of 2014 remained unchanged. The total labor force registered an increase of 5,900, and the total unemployment rose by 5,700.
Industry analysis found that the employment in the construction sector increased by 7,000 quarter-to-quarter to 50,900 (13.3 percent of total employment), while employment in the gaming industry decreased by 5,500, set at 80,100.
In the second quarter, the median monthly employment earnings of the employed held stable, as it did in the previous quarter at MOP13,000. Moreover, the median earnings of those engaging in gaming and the construction sector amounted to MOP16,000 and MOP14,000 respectively.