Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that both the general unemployment rate (2.0%) and the unemployment rate of local residents (2.6%) for May - July 2025 increased slightly by 0.1 percentage point from the previous period (April - June 2025), due to a rise in the number of new labour market entrants seeking their first job during graduation season.
With some fresh graduates entering the labour market, the proportion of new labour market entrants seeking their first job rose by 2.7 percentage points to 13.7% of the unemployed residents (7,600). Among the unemployed residents searching for a new job, most of them were previously engaged in the Construction sector, Retail Trade and the Gaming sector.
The general underemployment rate (1.7%) and the underemployment rate of local residents (2.1%) both grew by 0.1 percentage point over the previous period. Among the underemployed residents (6,100), the majority were working in the Construction sector and Real Estate & Business Activities.
The Employment Survey covers all residential units in the Macao Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane, excluding collective living quarters such as dormitories and care homes for the elderly. Individuals living in these units are included in the survey, and therefore residents of the Macao Special Administrative Region (Macao SAR), as well as non-resident workers, who work in but live outside the Macao SAR are excluded. According to the preliminary estimates from the movement records, an average of about 107,900 Macao SAR residents and non-resident workers worked in the Macao SAR but lived outside the territory during the reference period. The total labour force, consisting of these individuals and the labour force living in the Macao SAR (379,100), increased by 300 from the previous period to 487,000.