Macau's jobless rate dips to 4.9 per cent

Macau's jobless rate dips to 4.9 per cent, lowest rate since mid-1998 :: PONTO FINAL :: Portal do Di�rio de Macau - MACAO DAILY NEWS Macau's unemployment rate dipped to 4.9 per cent in the period between May and July, the first time that the rate has fallen below five per cent since mid-1998, the Macau Statistics and Census Bureau said on Tuesday. According to the bureau, the rate decreased 0.1 percentage points on the period between April and June this year and 1.5 percentage points on the period between May and July last year. Macau's economy, which suffered negative growth in the last four year of Portuguese rule in the run-up to the 1999 handover to China, has enjoyed two-digit growth in the past two years. The liberalisation of the gaming industry and a strong increase in visitor arrival numbers have created thousands of new jobs in Macau in the past few months. Macau's economy, which is mainly powered by casinos, tourism and garment exports, grew 25.6 per cent in real terms in the first quarter. Macau's workforce totalled 226,000 in the period between May and July, including 11,000 jobless residents. Macau's population reached 454,000 at the end of June, the government announced earlier this week. The labour participation rate stood a 61.5 per cent in the period between May and July, an increase of one percentage points on the same period last year.