This stability mirrors the general unemployment rate, which also held steady at 1.9 percent compared to the previous February to April 2025 period. The figures indicate a consistent labor market for local residents despite slight shifts in overall employment numbers.
The overall labor force living in Macau saw a marginal decrease of 400 individuals to 380,200, with total employment also dipping by 200 to 373,000 from the preceding period. Conversely, the number of employed residents experienced a slight rise of 300, reaching 282,200. An analysis by industry shows an increase in employed residents within the Construction sector, while the Financial Activities sector saw a decrease.
DSEC reported 7,200 unemployed residents during this period. A significant proportion of these individuals, who were actively seeking new employment, had previously worked in the Retail Trade, Construction, and Gaming sectors. Furthermore, the proportion of new entrants to the labor market searching for their first job decreased by 1.8 percentage points, now accounting for 8.4 percent of the unemployed residents.
In contrast to the stable unemployment figures, underemployment rates saw an uptick. The general underemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 1.6 percent, and the underemployment rate of local residents rose by 0.3 percentage points to 2.1 percent. The number of underemployed residents grew by 800, reaching 6,000, with the majority employed in the Construction sector and Real Estate & Business Activities.
Compared to the same period last year (March to May 2024), both the general labor force participation rate (66.6 percent) and the labor force participation rate of local residents (61.3 percent) decreased, by 0.8 and 0.7 percentage points respectively.
The Employment Survey encompasses all residential units in Macau Peninsula, Taipa, and Coloane, excluding collective living quarters. It does not include Macau residents or non-resident workers who work in Macau but reside outside the territory.
Preliminary estimates suggest an average of approximately 106,400 such individuals worked in Macau during the reference period, leading to an estimated total labor force of 486,500 when included, a decrease of 300 from the previous period.
