Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the numbers of full-time employees in Hotels (53,802), Restaurants (22,914) and Elderly Care (1,383) went up by 21.7%, 1.1% and 5.3% respectively year-on-year at the end of the third quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, numbers of those in Manufacturing (7,535) and Child-care (1,487) dropped by 6.5% and 1.5% respectively year-on-year, whereas number of those in Electricity, Gas & Water Supply (1,082) remained unchanged.

In September, average earnings (excluding irregular remuneration) of full-time employees in some industries increased, attributable to a rise in the number of working hours of employees and a decrease in the number of relatively low-paid employees. Average earnings of those in Hotels (MOP19,640) and Restaurants (MOP10,240) both grew by 5.6% year-on-year, and earnings of those in Manufacturing (MOP12,980) and Elderly Care (MOP16,820) went up by 9.8% and 4.7% respectively; by contrast, average earnings of those in Electricity, Gas & Water Supply (MOP31,560) and Child-care (MOP16,390) edged down by 0.5% and 0.1% respectively.

With the gradual recovery of the economy, the demand for manpower increased. At the end of the third quarter, job vacancies in Hotels (1,882) and Restaurants (1,542) went up by 1,460 and 514 respectively year-on-year, while those in Manufacturing (245) decreased by 162. In terms of recruitment prerequisites, 27.2% and 71.5% of the job vacancies in Hotels and Restaurants required only junior secondary education or lower, while 69.0% of the vacancies in Electricity, Gas & Water Supply required tertiary education. Regarding language skills, 88.7% and 41.2% of the vacancies in Hotels required knowledge of Mandarin and English respectively, while the corresponding proportions for Restaurants were 63.4% and 19.9%.

In the third quarter, the job vacancy rate (3.4%) and the employee recruitment rate (12.8%) of Hotels rose by 2.5 and 11.0 percentage points respectively year-on-year. As for Restaurants, the job vacancy rate (6.3%) and the employee recruitment rate (7.1%) went up by 2.0 and 2.6 percentage points respectively. The figures indicated an increase in the demand for manpower in the above two industries.

The Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages for the third quarter of 2023 covered Manufacturing; Electricity, Gas & Water Supply; Hotels; Restaurants; Child-care and Elderly Care.