Number of Macau gaming workers down 4.6% in Q3

Macau’s Statistics and Census Service has reported that the number of people employed by the gaming industry fell to 66,400 in the third quarter.

Macau.- In its report for the third quarter of the year, Macau’s Statistics and Census Service has reported that the number of employees at gaming companies in Macau was down by 4.6 per cent when compared to the previous quarter. It said 66,400 people were working in the industry – 18.3 per cent of Macau’s workforce.

According to the statistics bureau, 23,300 workers in Macau’s gaming industry were underemployed in the year’s third quarter, up from 19,200. Macau’s overall underemployment rate was 62,500 people, 37.2 per cent of whom work in gaming.

The statistics bureau said the main reason for underemployment in Macau was unpaid leave or partially paid leave, accounting for 81.9 per cent of the total, up 36.3 percentage points from the previous quarter. Macau’s overall unemployment rate in the third quarter was 4 per cent, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter.

In July, casinos were temporarily ordered to shut their doors for two weeks but casino operators were encouraging employees to stay away from work for longer than that due to the lack of tourists amid Covid-19 alerts in mainland China.