Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the general unemployment rate for October-December 2019 was 1.7%, the unemployment rate of local residents was 2.3%, and the underemployment rate was 0.5%. All three indicators remained steady compared to the previous period (September-November 2019).

Total labour force was 396,500 and the labour force participation rate was 70.2%. Total employment was 389,800 and number of employed residents totalled 281,600, up by 2,200 and 1,300 respectively from the previous period. Number of the unemployed was 6,700, an increase of 200 from the previous period. The proportion of new labour market entrants seeking their first job decreased by 2.9 percentage points to 16.3% of the total unemployed.

In the fourth quarter of 2019, the general unemployment rate (1.7%) and the unemployment rate of local residents (2.3%) dipped by 0.1 and 0.2 percentage points respectively from the previous quarter. Total employment increased by 2,700 quarter-to-quarter, with the number of employed residents rising by 500. Analysed by industry, employment in the Wholesale & Retail Trade (43,600) and Transport, Storage & Communications Sector (20,400) went up by 1,800 and 1,400 respectively quarter-to-quarter, while that in Restaurants & Similar Activities (23,100) dropped by 2,100. Meanwhile, median monthly employment earnings of the employed (MOP17,000) and employed residents (MOP20,000) held steady quarter-to-quarter.

For the whole year of 2019, the general unemployment rate was 1.7% and the unemployment rate of local residents was 2.3%, both down by 0.1 percentage point year-on-year. Median monthly employment earnings of the employed (MOP17,000) increased by MOP1,000, while those of the employed residents (MOP20,000) stayed flat year-on-year. As regards household employment, average number of employed persons per household was 1.6 in 2019, down by 0.1 year-on-year; median monthly employment earnings per household fell by MOP1,000 year-on-year to MOP29,000.