The number of Macau locals employed in the gaming and junket industry declined by 3,600 quarter-on-quarter in the three months to 31 December 2023, leaving 67,400 employees according to latest data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).
Macau’s overall unemployment rate in Q4 was 2.3%, with the unemployment rate of local residents at 2.9% and the underemployment rate at 1.4%.
The number of unemployed people in Macau in the fourth quarter was 8,600, with the majority of those having previously worked in the gaming and gaming junket industry, the hotel and restaurant industry or the retail industry.
There were 371,100 employed people in 4Q23, of which 286,100 were local employed residents. Of these, 67,400 were employed in the gaming and gaming junket activities, a decrease of 3,600 people or about 5% from the third quarter.
In FY23, the annual unemployment rate of Macau was 2.7% for the total employed population and 3.4% for local residents, representing year-on-year decreases of 1.0% and 1.4% respectively. The median monthly employment earnings of the total employed population was MOP$17,500 (US$3,307) and that of local employed residents was MOP$20,000 (US$3,780), representing year-on-year increases of MOP$2,500 (US$311) and MOP$1,000 (US$124) respectively.
