Unemployment rate unchanged

The unemployment rate for June-August 2016 held stable over the previous period (May-July 2016) at 1.9 percent. According to the Statistics and Census Service the underemployment rate was 0.4 percent, down by 0.1 of a percentage point. The total labor force was 400,000 and the labor force participation rate stood at 72.7 percent. Total employment increased by 600 from May-July to 392,600. Analyzed by industry, employment in Hotels, Restaurants & Similar Activities increased, while Construction saw a decrease. The number of those unemployed was 7,400, similar to that in May-July. With fresh graduates joining the labor market, the proportion of fresh labor force entrants searching for their first job increased by 5 percentage points to 20.5 percent of the total unemployed population. Compared to June-August 2015, the labor force participation rate dropped by 0.6 percentage points.

SJM and MCE exempted from paying additional gaming tax

According to a notice published by the Official Gazette, the Macau government will once more grant an exemption to both Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) and Melco Crown Entertainment (MCE) from the payment of additional income tax on profits generated from gaming or other casino games. The exemptions, which are for a period of five years and have previously been granted to the other four gaming operators, have become a common occurrence since Law 16/2001 (Legal Framework for the Operations of Casino Games of Fortune) entered into force. The exemption has been granted to SJM from 2017 to 31 March 2020 and to MCE from 2017 to 2021.