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Upon the series of Nuclear Power incidents occurred at Fukushima Prefecture Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 in Japan, the Macao Meteorological Bureau has been monitoring closely for any alteration of the radiation level in Macao and so far no abnormalities has been discovered. At the same time, the World Meteorological Organization has already activated its Environmental Emergency Response operation. According to the latest forecasts conducted today (16th) by the two Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres including Beijing and Tokyo, areas affected by nuclear radiation for the next two days are still limited to the eastern part of Japan and the Northern Pacific to the east of Japan. Thus this nuclear incident is not expected to affect Macao directly and we are still safe from that. According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (15th March 15:01 till 16th March 15:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1187 and 0.1414μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. Besides, the radiation level in Macao has always been within the normal level with no abnormalities found since the very beginning of this incident. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to this nuclear incident and monitor for any possible impact on Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released results of the Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages for the fourth quarter of 2010. Survey coverage comprised the Gaming sector; Wholesale & Retail Trade; Transport, Storage & Communications sector; Security Activities and Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities, excluding own-account workers and junket promoters & junket associates. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2010, the Gaming sector had 44,806 employees, up by 1.8% year-on-year, of which 19,149 were dealers, an increase of 4.8%. In December 2010, average earnings (excluding bonuses and allowances) of full-time employees rose by 4.0% year-on-year to MOP 15,700, with dealers earning MOP 13,610 in average. Wholesale & Retail Trade had 30,757 paid employees, up by 5.3% year-on-year, with 18,897 working in Retail trade. In December 2010, average earnings of full-time employees rose by 9.2% year-on-year to MOP9,930, with Sales representatives and Salespersons earning MOP12,000 and MOP9,000 respectively in average. The Transport, Storage & Communications sector took on 7,341 paid employees, down by 4.1% year-on-year. In December, average earnings of full-time employees decreased by 1.1% year-on-year to MOP14,930. Drivers of passenger/cargo transport by land earned an average of MOP13,090. Security Activities had 4,735 paid employees, up by 26.3% year-on-year. The average earnings of full-time employees in December rose by 1.4% year-on-year to MOP7,940, with Security guards earning MOP7,610 in average. Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities had 650 paid employees, up by 4.3% year-on-year. The average earnings of full-time employees in December increased by 4.4% year-on-year to MOP10,980. With a major gaming and tourism project and a new public bus operator coming into operation, number of vacancies in the Gaming sector surged by almost nine-fold year-on-year to 3,761 (2,121 for dealers) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010, while Land transport reported 629 vacancies, up drastically by almost seven-fold year-on-year. In terms of recruitment prerequisites, 68.3% of the vacancies in the Gaming sector required no working experience, while 79.8% of the vacancies in the Transport, Storage & Communications sector and 61.1% of those in Wholesale & Retail Trade required working experience. As regards educational attainment, 75.0% of the vacancies in the Gaming sector and 53.0% of those in Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities required senior secondary education or higher, while 68.5% of the vacancies in the Transport, Storage & Communications sector and 67.9% of those in Security Activities required primary education only. Besides Cantonese, Mandarin and English were the more preferable language skills for the vacancies in Wholesale & Retail Trade at 63.1% and 40.8% respectively; for those in the Gaming sector, 28.3% required knowledge of Mandarin and 23.9% required English. With respect to the indicators that measure the inflow and outflow of human resources, as well as staffing needs of the sectors, Security Activities had the highest job vacancy rate, employee recruitment rate and turnover rate, at 15.6%, 13.7% and 7.4% respectively. Job vacancy rate of the Gaming sector (7.9%) rose substantially by 7.0 percentage points year-on-year, whilst the employee recruitment rate was 5.9%, up by 1.0 percentage point.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours decreased by 3.7% year-on-year to 442,061 in January 2011. Visitors from Mainland China (316,362), Japan (22,224) and Hong Kong (17,522) decreased by 3.8%, 6.5% and 15.1%; however, visitors from Republic of Korea (24,050); and Taiwan, China (23,961) increased by 85.6% and 4.5% respectively. In January 2011, Macao residents travelling outbound in package tours soared by 42.0% year-on-year to 18,232, with Mainland China (83.1% of total) and Malaysia (3.2%) being the most popular tour itineraries. Meanwhile, outbound residents travelling under own arrangements using services of travel agencies surged by 51.2% year-on-year to 43,046 and the main destinations were Mainland China (41.7% of total); Hong Kong (24.2%); Taiwan, China (16.3%) and Thailand (5.8%). At the end of January 2011, total number of available guest rooms of the hotel sector increased by 804 (+4.2%) year-on-year to 19,890 rooms. A total of 640,835 guests checked into hotels and guest-houses in January 2011, down by 3.5% year-on-year, with the majority coming from Mainland China (56.6% of total) and Hong Kong (16.9%). The average occupancy rate of hotels and guest-houses was 80.3%, down by 1.3 percentage points year-on-year; average occupancy rate of hotels stood at 81.1%, with 4-star hotels leading at 86.2%. The average length of stay of guests increased by 0.03 night to 1.5 nights. In January 2011, visitor-guests of hotels and guest-houses accounted for 63.7% of the total number of tourists, up from 62.7% in January 2010.
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Upon the series of Nuclear Power incidents occurred at Fukushima Prefecture Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 in Japan, the Macao Meteorological Bureau has been monitoring closely for any alteration of the radiation level in Macao and so far no abnormalities has been discovered. At the same time, the World Meteorological Organization has already activated its Environmental Emergency Response operation. According to the latest forecasts conducted this morning (16th) by the two Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres including Beijing and Tokyo, areas affected by nuclear radiation for the next two days are still limited to the eastern part of Japan and the Northern Pacific to the east of Japan. Thus this nuclear incident is not expected to affect Macao directly and we are still safe from that. According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute this morning ranges between 0.1187 and 0.1414μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. Besides, the radiation level in Macao has always been within the normal level with no abnormalities found since the very beginning of this incident. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to this nuclear incident and monitor for any possible impact on Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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The China's Embassy in Japan published this afternoon (March 15), an emergency statement for the evacuation of the Chinese citizens based on the principles of the highest responsibility for the safeguard of personal safety, allowing people, including Macao residents, to evacuate the highest calamity affected areas ( Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Iwate). The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT), appeals to all Macao residents who are currently the above mentioned locations to maintain contact with Macao. GGCT also informs that all urgent and necessary information will be sent via SMS to people in Japan who are using a Mobile phone from a local Macao Service provider. In case of necessity, the interested parties may call the tourism hotline: 853-28333000. Full text of the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China issued on March 15, 2011: "Since the earthquake occurred northeast of Japan, the Chinese Embassy in Japan has directed all its efforts towards relief of affected Chinese citizens. Based on the principles of the highest responsibility for the safeguard of personal safety, the Ministry of Foreign advises that travel to hardest hit areas in Japan should be avoided. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy in Japan and the Consulate General in Niigata will immediately take all possible means and measures to arrange for the orderly evacuation of citizens which are still in the hardest hit areas. The Embassy and Consulate General in Niigata already have organized a transportation plan which includes large buses leaving from certain defined locations in Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Iwate as to take all of those who choose to return to the country through the airports in Narita and Niigata, respectively."
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Upon the series of Nuclear Power incidents occurred at Fukushima Prefecture Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 in Japan, the Macao Meteorological Bureau has been monitoring closely for any alteration of the radiation level in Macao and so far no abnormalities has been discovered. At the same time, the World Meteorological Organization has already activated its Environmental Emergency Response operation. According to the latest forecasts conducted this afternoon (15th) by the two Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres including Beijing and Tokyo, areas affected by nuclear radiation for the next two days are still limited to the eastern part of Japan and the Northern Pacific to the east of Japan. Thus this nuclear incident is not expected to affect Macao directly and we are still safe from that. According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute this afternoon ranges between 0.1169 and 0.1396μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. Besides, the radiation level in Macao has always been within the normal level with no abnormalities found since the very beginning of this incident. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to this nuclear incident and monitor for any possible impact on Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt contingency measures.
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As a consequence of another explosion that occurred Today (15March) at the nuclear power plant at Fukushima, Japan. The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) would like to once again to advise Macao residents to avoid travelling to Fukushima and Sendai. Regarding those whit issues related to travel arrangements to Japan after the catastrophe, the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) continues to follow the developments through contacts and coordination with the tourism sector and airlines. GGCT continues to monitor the situation and the effects of the severe earthquake that occurred in northeast Japan, while maintaining contact with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC in Macao, the travel industry ,the Health Bureau (SS), the Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG), the Macao Government's Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM), the Macao Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) and the representatives of the Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO) in Japan. GGCT would like to appeal to those who are currently in that country to be aware of indications given out by Japanese authorities and take precautions regarding their personal safety as well as remind that Macao residents and tourists in Japan, may contact in case of need the appropriate entities through the tourism hotline: 28333000. The Office reminds that Japan is currently facing a catastrophic situation after last Friday's earthquake followed by multiple replicas. As such, the situation's standpoint is still unclear despite the attempts of society to continue with everyday routine. Meanwhile, GGCT and MGTO will maintain coordination and contacts with the tourism sector and airlines in order to answer inquiries received. According to information from the Macao Travel Industry Council (TICM), all group tours organized by travel agencies under TICM to Japan until the 20th of March via Macao are cancelled. The tour participants that have paid for their reservations may reschedule their tour dates for the period of the next six months or negotiate with their travel agencies in order to exchange for different tourism travel destinations. Air Macau has also informed their passengers holding tickets to Tokyo and Osaka until the 18th and return tickets until the 19th, that they may reschedule or cancel their reservations in this case refund. For additional information the interested parties may access the airline's webpage: www.airmacau.com.mo. The Tourism Crisis Management Office will keep in contact with different parties, coordinating according to the situation's developments in order to direct its efforts to further reduce the impact the earthquake caused to tourists from Macao travelling to Japan. In addition, the office calls for residents and tourists from Macao to assess the country's crisis, and when arriving in Japan to take into account the information and safety guidelines handed out by Japanese authorities. According to information from the Tourism sector the 20 people belonging to a tour from Macau in Osaka will return tomorrow according to plan. Up till today (14 March) 12:00, GGCT received an accumulated total of 173 calls for inquiries and continues to follow-up the requests and give out necessary support. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC issued emergency announcements for all Chinese tourists to reconsider travelling to Japan and avoid the cities which were most affected by the catastrophe, Fukushima and Sendai.
Meanwhile, due to last Friday's earthquake, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established a 24 hours contact service for Chinese citizens that are currently in Japan: 03-3403-3388, extensions 8881, 8882, 8712. For further information related to the situation in Japan, interest parties may also gather further information from the following web-portals: SMG: http://www.smg.gov.mo
SS: http://www.ssm.gov.mo
IAS: http://www.ias.gov.mo
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The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP196.2 billion (USD24.44 billion) at the end of February 2011. The reserves rose by 2.2% from the revised value of MOP192.0 billion (USD23.92 billion) for the previous month. When compared with a year earlier, the reserves increased by MOP46.4 billion or 31.0%. Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves at end-February 2011 represented 30 times the currency in circulation or 276.2% of Pataca M2 at end-January 2011. The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca, a gauge of the domestic currency's exchange rates against the currencies of Macao's major trading partners, fell by 0.62 points month-to-month and 2.07 points year-on-year to 88.21 in February 2011. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel: 83952532; Fax: 28353042)
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As a consequence of another explosion that occurred Today (14 March) at the nuclear power plant at Fukushima, Japan. The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) would like to once again advise Macao residents to avoid travelling to the most affected areas, and those who are currently there to be attentive to safety instructions of the Japanese government, and to take necessary measures to ensure personal safety. GGCT continues to monitor the situation and the effects of the severe earthquake that occurred in northeast Japan, while maintaining contact with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC in Macao, the travel industry ,the Health Bureau (SS), The Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG), the Macao Government's Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, the Macao Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) and the representatives of the Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO) in Japan. GGCT would like to remind that Macao residents and tourists in Japan that in case of need, they may contact the appropriate entities through the tourism hotline: 28333000. According to information from the Macao Travel Industry Council (TICM), all group tours organized by travel agencies under TICM to Japan until the 20th of March via Macao are cancelled. The tour participants that have paid for their reservations may reschedule their tour dates for the period of the next six months or negotiate with their travel agencies in order to exchange for different tourism travel destinations. Air Macau has also informed their passengers holding tickets to Tokyo and Osaka until the 18th and return tickets until the 19th, that they may reschedule or cancel their reservations in this case refund. For additional information the interested parties may access the airline's webpage: www.airmacau.com.mo. Due to the last Friday's earthquake, replicas can still be felt. Transportation and Telecommunications in Japan are still not totally functional. GGCT is closely monitoring the situation and appeals to Macao residents and tourists to be attentive to their personal safety and instructions of the Japanese government. Up till today (14 March) 17:00, GGCT received an accumulated total of 165 calls for inquiries and continues to follow-up the requests and give out necessary support. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC issued emergency announcements for all Chinese tourists to reconsider travelling to Japan and avoid the cities which were most affected by the catastrophe, Fukushima and Sendai. Meanwhile, due to last Friday's earthquake, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established a 24 hours contact service for Chinese citizens that are currently in Japan: 03-3403-3388, extensions 8881, 8882, 8712. For further information related to the situation in Japan, interest parties may also gather further information from the following web-portals: SMG: http://www.smg.gov.mo
SS: http://www.ssm.gov.mo
IAS: http://www.ias.gov.mo
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Upon the series of Nuclear Power incidents occurred at Fukushima Prefecture Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 in Japan, the Macao Meteorological Bureau has been monitoring closely for any changes of the radiation level in Macao and so far no abnormalities has been recorded. At the same time, the World Meteorological Organization has already activated its Environmental Emergency Response operation and conduct forecasts upon this nuclear leakage incident. Since for the next two days, Japan will still be affected by mainly westerly winds, contamination is expected to affect only the eastern part of Japan and the Northern Pacific to the east of Japan. Macao locates more than 3000km from the site of the incident with an opposite direction to the affected areas and thus this nuclear incident is not expected to affect us directly. According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation located on the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1178 and 0.1466μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) from the 11th of March till 11am today (14th) which lies within the normal level with no abnormalities found. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to this nuclear incident and monitor for any possible impact on Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt contingency measures.
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