Macao's Jobless Rate Stands at 6.3 Percent

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, September 29, 2002

Macao's Jobless Rate Stands at 6.3 Percent

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The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Macao was recorded at 6.3 percent in the second quarter of this year, staying at the same level with the May-July period but inching up 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier.

The Statistics and Census Services reported Sunday more job opportunities were created in the sectors of construction, manufacturing and gaming and entertainment.

The improvement, however, was not matched with the industries of transportation and telecommunication, warehousing and finance, which employed even fewer people.

The total labor force was estimated at 213,000 including 200,000 employees and 13,400 jobless in the three months, the agency said.

The under-employment rate for the Special Administrative Region (SAR) -- targeting those who work part-time or short hours -- climbed 0.4 percent from the prior three months to 3.3 percent.

Although the lukewarm world economy still poses a challenge for Macao's export sector, local authorities expect the jobless strains will be eased later this year and in 2003 due to an investment boom after liberalization of the gambling industry and construction of a host of public projects.

The SAR government provided another helping hand not long ago, by allocating 400 million patacas (80 million US dollars) for re-training of the jobless.

The SAR's jobless rate reached a peak in the history -- 7.1 percent -- in the second quarter of 2000 and afterwards it hovered in a range of 6.3 to 6.6 percent, according to statistics.

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