Macau GDP rises 38.8% in Q1
Macau’s GDP was boosted by the lifting of Covid-19-related travel restrictions and the resumption of package tours.
Macau.- The Macau Statistics and Census Service has reported that gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of the year was up 38.8 per cent year-on-year. The growth was mainly due to the lifting of Covid-19-related travel restrictions and the resumption of package tours early this year.
Macau’s economic output reached 66.4 per cent of its first-quarter 2019 level. The GDP implied deflator, which measures changes in aggregate prices, rose 2.5 per cent year-over-year.
Authorities reported that the increase in tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2023 led to a 100 per cent increase in exports of gaming services and a 72.9 per cent increase in exports of other travel services. As a result, total service exports increased by 71.5 per cent year-on-year, while service imports increased by 24 per cent.
The import and export of goods decreased by 6.9 per cent and 40.6 per cent year-on-year respectively. Due to a shift in private consumption expenditures to government spending resulting from livelihood subsidies, local household consumption fell by 12.2 per cent year-on-year despite a steady economic recovery and residents resuming outbound travel after the pandemic.
Government consumption spending rose 30.1 per cent year-on-year, driven by higher spending on economic support measures such as Dibao and electricity tariff subsidies.
In April, a forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that Macau’s economy will grow by as much as 58.9 per cent in 2023. The GDP growth forecast for 2024 is 20.6 per cent, while growth of 8.5 per cent is estimated for 2025. These predictions come after three consecutive years of economic contraction due to strict Covid-19 prevention measures.
The IMF predicts that the unemployment rate will drop to 2.7 per cent this year and that prices will grow no more than 2.5 per cent. In 2022, Macau experienced a decline of 26.8 per cent in GDP.
See also: Macau GGR shows strong growth in May, analysts say
Local unemployment rate decrease
Authorities reported that local unemployment and overall unemployment from February 2023 to April 2023 decreased by 0.3 percentage points compared with the previous reporting period. The general unemployment rate was 2.8 per cent, while the local unemployment rate was 3.6 per cent.
Young professionals looking for their first job as a share of all unemployed fell 2.9 percentage points to 3.9 per cent. The number of employed people was 360,700, and the number of local employees was 282,200, an increase of 1,400 and 1,000 respectively over the previous period.
