Unemployment rate remains steady at 1.7 pct

The unemployment rate for January-March remained steady at 1.7 percent, the same as the December-February period, data released yesterday by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) shows.
The number of unemployed citizens was 6,800, similar to that recorded in December 2014-February 2015. Fresh labor force entrants searching for their first job accounted for 6.5 percent of the total unemployed, down by 3.4 percentage points.
In the first quarter of 2015, the general unemployment rate (1.7 percent) and the unemployment rate of residents (2.4 percent) remained stable, as in the previous quarter. Total employment increased by 900 quarter-to-quarter. Analyzed by industry, employment in Health & Social Welfare (11,900) rose by 2,200, while Gaming (84,600) and Hotels & Similar Activities (26,100) dropped by 2,400 and 1,800 respectively.
Due to the granting of thirteen-month salaries and bonuses by many companies within different industries in the first quarter of 2015, median monthly employment earnings of the employed (MOP15,000) and the employed residents (MOP18,000) increased by MOP1,000 and MOP2,000 respectively quarter-to-quarter.
Between January and March, the total labor force reached 406,300 bringing the labor force participation rate to 74.3 percent. Total employment reached 399,500, representing a 0.7 percent increase from the December-February period.