Macao's unemployment rate hits record low

Macao's unemployment rate in March-May 2013 fell to 1.8 percent, the lowest since 1999, according to the figures released Thursday by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC). The figure was down by 0.1 percentage point over the previous period of February to April, according to the DSEC. The unemployed number fell by 600 from the previous period to 6,400, with 3 percent being fresh labor force entrants searching for their first jobs, down 1.2 percentage points over the previous period, the figures indicated. The city's total labor force stood at 360,700 in the period, with the labor force participation rate reaching 72 percent. The employed population increased by 2,000 over the previous period to 354,400, in which employment of restaurant and similar activities and wholesale trade sector registered increase, the DSEC said.