In the third quarter of 2007, total labour force was estimated at 317,500, of which 307,700 were employed and 9,800 unemployed, representing increases of 11,300 in the employed population and 600 in the unemployed population over the previous quarter.

Regarding the employed population, 53.1% were male.

Analyzed by industry, the majority of the employed population were engaging in Recreational, cultural, gaming & other services (24.0%), Construction (13.4%), Wholesale & retail trade (12.7%), as well as Hotels, restaurants & similar activities (11.7%).

By occupation, 27.2% of the employed population were Clerks (including casino dealers, floorpersons, betting service operators, etc.); 20.5% were Service & sales workers and 17.3% were Unskilled workers.

The overall median monthly employment earnings was US$ 983.38. For Recreational, cultural, gaming & other services that engaged the majority of the employed population, the median earnings amounted to US$ 1,443.00.

The median actual hours worked per week was 46.9 hours.

Within the unemployed, 79.2% were searching for a new job, while 20.8% had never worked and were searching for their first job. With regard to the educational attainment, 5.4% had pre-primary education; 28.9% had primary education; 28.5% had junior secondary education; 21.4% had senior secondary education and 15.8% had tertiary education.

For the unemployed that were searching for a new job:

Analyzed by the previous industry engaged, the majority had worked in Wholesale & retail trade (19.9%), Hotels, restaurants & similar activities (18.1%), Construction (17.4%), as well as Recreational, cultural, gaming & other services (16.1%).

In terms of the previous occupation, 31.2% were Service & sales workers, whereas Unskilled workers and Clerks accounted for 19.3% and 18.0% respectively.

Source: Macau Government Bureau