Unemployment rate slightly drops in Q1
The local residents’ unemployment rate stood at 3.9% in the first quarter, as shown by data from the Statistics and Census Service.
The figure is a slight drop of 0.6 percentage points from the previous quarter, while it is a drop of 0.4 percentage points in the general unemployment rate, which stood at 3.1%.
Total employment was 359,300 and the number of employed residents totaled 281,200, down by 600 and 1,000, respectively, from the previous period.
The number of unemployed residents decreased by 700 from the previous period to 11,500. Among the unemployed searching for a new job, most were previously engaged in the construction sector and gaming and junket activities. Meanwhile, the proportion of new labor market entrants seeking their first job fell 2.5 percentage points to 6.8% of the total unemployed.
The number of underemployed dropped 1,900 from the previous period to 8,000, with a notable decline in the number of those engaged in gaming and junket activities.
Analyzed by industry, employment in wholesale and retail trade (47,400) and gaming and junket activities (66,400) fell 1,700 and 1,200, respectively, quarter-to-quarter, while that in the transport and storage sector (16,800) rose by 2,300.
Meanwhile, the median monthly employment earnings of the employed in the first quarter rose by MOP1,400 quarter-to-quarter to MOP17,000. The median earnings of those engaged in gaming and junket activities and the construction sector stood at MOP20,500 and MOP15,000, respectively.
Staff Reporter
