With the COVID-19 pandemic significantly dampening local and global economic activities, Macau’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) dropped by 48.7% year-on-year in real terms for the first quarter of this year.
Macau’s exports of services was severely hit amid the pandemic and dropped by 60% year-on-year, while exports of gaming services and other tourism services fell by 61.5% and 63.9% respectively.
The general unemployment rate for February to April increased by 0.1 percentage point to 2.2% from the previous period (January to March 2020), with the unemployment rate of local residents rising by 0.2 percentage points to 3.1%.
The number of people unemployed increased by 400 to 8,900, most of whom were previously engaged in gaming and junket activities or in the construction sector. The number of underemployed also increased by 5,100 to 8,300, with the majority working in the retail trade sector, construction sector, gaming and junket activities or the transport and storage sector.