Macau’s gaming sector workforce has seen a significant boost in wages in June of this year, according to the latest data from the city’s Statistics and Census Bureau.
As of June 2024, average earnings for full-time employees in the sector reached MOP26,750 ($3,346), marking an 8.2 percent increase from the previous year. Dealers also experienced wage growth, with average earnings climbing to MOP21,660 ($2,715), up 6.5 percent due to higher salaries and increased working hours.
Despite a slight decrease in the total number of dealers, which fell to 23,467 (down 0.9 percent), the overall workforce in the local gaming sector grew to 52,518 full-time employees, an increase of 825 or 1.6 percent year-on-year.
Only local Macau residents are allowed to work as croupiers.
This growth reflects a recovery in the city’s tourism volume and an increasing demand for labor as visitor arrivals continue to rise. Macau welcomed 14.4 million tourists in the first seven months of the year, up by 314.6 percent compared to last year.
Accompanying these wage increases, job vacancies in the gaming sector surged to 498, a notable rise of 385 vacancies or over 340.7 percent compared to the same period last year.
The job vacancy rate also increased significantly to 0.9 percent, up 0.7 percentage points year-on-year, demonstrating the need for additional manpower in the SAR’s industry.
The sector recorded 1,492 new hires in the second quarter while 1,143 employees left their positions. This led to an employee recruitment rate of 2.9 percent, up by 1.0 percentage point, while the turnover rate slightly decreased to 2.2 percent.
The Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages of the Gaming Sector does not include junket promoters and associates’ data, focusing solely on broader employment trends.
As of June 11th, Macau had only 22 licensed junket operators, less than half of the permitted quota, in an industry that some 10 years ago had some 235 junket operators registered.
