Macao saw a 3.4-percent unemployment rate from November 2006 to
January 2007, a drop of 0.5 percentage point on a year-on-year
base, according to official statistics issued Thursday.
The figures from the government-run Statistics and Census
Service showed that the number was the lowest since 1997. The
unemployment rate stood at 3.2 percent in 1997 and peaked at 7.1
percent in 2001.
The number of jobless residents seeking their first job was
around 900, or 9.2 percent of the unemployed population, from
November to January, according to the statistics.
Macao's total labor force was estimated at 291,000 in the
period, the figures showed.
The special administrative region has a population of over 508,
000.
(Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2007)