Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the general unemployment rate for January-March 2017 was 2.0%, and the unemployment rate of local residents was 2.8%; meanwhile, the underemployment rate stood at 0.5%. All three indicators held stable as in the previous period (December 2016-February 2017).

Total labour force was 387,500 and the labour force participation rate stood at 71.0%. Total employment was 379,500 and employed residents totalled 278,100, up by 400 and 1,000 respectively from the previous period. Number of the unemployed was 7,900, similar to that in the previous period. Fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job accounted for 9.7% of the total unemployed, up by 1.3 percentage points.

In the first quarter of 2017, both the general unemployment rate (2.0%) and the unemployment rate of local residents (2.8%) increased slightly by 0.1 percentage point from the previous quarter. Total employment dropped by 5,500 quarter-to-quarter, of which number of employed residents decreased by 300. Analysed by industry, employment in Restaurants & Similar Activities (22,900) and Construction (35,200) decreased by 4,100 and 2,000 respectively, while that in Wholesale & Retail Trade (47,400) increased by 1,100.

Median monthly employment earnings of the employed stayed unchanged from the previous quarter, at MOP15,000 in the first quarter, with those engaging in Gaming & Junket Activities and Construction earning MOP20,000 and MOP15,000 respectively. Moreover, median earnings of the employed residents stood at MOP19,000, up by MOP1,000 quarter-to-quarter.