Macau’s gaming labor force saw a slight decline in the final quarter of 2024 on a sequential basis, albeit a smaller drop than that recorded in the hospitality and retail sectors.
According to the most recent data from Macau’s Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), employment in the gaming sector fell by 0.2 percent quarterly, amounting to about 71,600 – about 18.6 percent of the total employed population in the SAR.
Overall employment fell in line with the reduction seen in the gaming workforce, down by 0.3 percent quarterly, to about 378,300.
Macau’s unemployment rate remained unchanged quarter-to-quarter, at 1.7 percent, despite the labor participation rate falling by 0.3 percentage points to 67.7 percent in the October-December quarter.
But the rising costs in Macau for tourists continued to impact employment in the wholesale and retail trade, as well as in hospitality, with a drop of 2.7 percent in employment for the former and 0.7 percent for the latter. Wholesale and retail employed some 41,200 people, while hospitality employed 30,400, approximately.
Construction employment saw a sharper drop, down by 4 percent yearly, despite ongoing expansion and redevelopment projects by Macau gaming operators.
However, the restaurant sector saw a slight quarterly rise in employment, up by 0.4 percent, to 21,600.
