Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that both the general unemployment rate (1.7%) and the unemployment rate of local residents (2.4%) for October-December 2018 held steady compared with the previous period (September-November 2018). The underemployment rate was 0.4%, up by 0.1 percentage point.

Total labour force was 394,900 and the labour force participation rate was 70.9%. Total employment was 388,000 and number of employed residents totalled 283,800, up by 1,900 and 800 respectively from the previous period. Number of the unemployed was 6,900, an increase of 100 from the previous period. Fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job accounted for 11.8% of the total unemployed, down by 2.3 percentage points.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, the general unemployment rate (1.7%) went down by 0.1 percentage point from the previous quarter, while the unemployment rate of local residents (2.4%) remained unchanged. Total employment increased by 400 quarter-to-quarter, of which number of employed residents dropped by 1,500. Analysed by industry, employment in the Transport, Storage & Communications Sector (20,600) increased by 1,000, while that in Hotels & Similar Activities (30,100) decreased by 1,400. Meanwhile, median monthly employment earnings of the employed (MOP16,000) and employed residents (MOP20,000) held stable quarter-to-quarter.

For the whole year of 2018 the employment situation in Macao was favourable. The general unemployment rate was 1.8% and the unemployment rate of local residents was 2.4%, down by 0.2 and 0.3 percentage points respectively year-on-year. Median monthly employment earnings of the employed (MOP16,000) and employed residents (MOP20,000) each went up by MOP1,000 year-on-year. As regards household employment, average number of employed persons per household was 1.7 in 2018, the same as in 2017; median monthly employment earnings per household rose by MOP1,600 year-on-year to MOP30,000.