The Statistics and Census Service released the results of the Employment Survey for the first quarter of 2008. Principal indicators such as the labour force participation rate and unemployment rate have been published in April.

In the first quarter of 2008, total labour force was estimated at 327,000, including 317,000 employed and 9,600 unemployed. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2007, the labour force registered an increase of 3,800, with the employed and the unemployed populations increasing by 3,700 and 100 respectively.

Analysed by industry, the majority of the employed population were engaging in Recreational, cultural, gaming & other services (25.2%) and Hotels, restaurants & similar activities (12.8%). In terms of occupation, most of the employed population were Clerks (including casino dealers, floorpersons, betting service operators, etc.) and Service & sales workers, accounting for 26.0% and 21.7% respectively.

The overall median monthly employment earnings was MOP8,200, with the median of those working in Recreational, cultural, gaming & other services amounting to MOP12,000. Median monthly employment earnings of the employed residents stood at MOP 9,500.

Within the unemployed, 7.4% had never worked and were searching for their first job, with 92.6% had worked previously and were searching for a new job. With regard to the educational attainment, 43.1% of the unemployed had primary or lower education; 28.0% had junior secondary education and 22.0% had senior secondary education.

For the unemployed that were searching for a new job, analyzed by the previous industry engaged, 33.5% were in Construction and 16.6% in Hotels, restaurants & similar activities. In terms of the previous occupation, 25.5% were Service & sales workers and 24.9% were Unskilled workers.