Macau’s Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) announced that 69,000 people were employed in the gaming industry in the second quarter, a decrease of 3,100 or 4.3% from the first quarter of 2022. The number of underemployed people also increased by 1,300 due to epidemic policies.
The 69,000 gaming industry employees, which including those still employed by gaming junkets, accounted for 19.1% of the total Macau workforce. There are 4,100 underemployed people in the gaming industry.
The median monthly employment earnings of gaming employees in the second quarter averaged MOP20,000, down MOP500 from the first quarter.
Among the underemployed, 45.6% of the employees are on unpaid leave or company-arranged paid leave arrangements. DSEC said, “The underemployed population increased as some establishments were suspended or operated at a minimum due to the impact of the pandemic prevention policy.”
The total number of underemployed people reached 15,700 in the second quarter, an increase of 5,100 compared to the first quarter of this year.
The unemployment rate of Macau residents rose to 4.8% in the second quarter, up 0.3% from the previous quarter. A total of 13,900 people were unemployed. Among them, 3,900 were working in the gaming industry before losing their jobs, an increase of 500 from the first quarter.