The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government will make larger efforts to reduce the unemployment rate and generate more job opportunities for local residents, according to a high official.
The number of non-local labor force has been on the decrease over the past few months, bringing in improvement of the unemployment situation, Francis Tam Pak Yuen, secretary for Economy and Finance, was quoted by Thursday's Macao Daily News as saying.
Latest statistics show that the jobless rate has dropped to 6.3 percent last month from 7.1 percent in the second quarter of last year.
Tam said that Macao's economy has been recovering so far this year, achieving positive growth.
The SAR government is taking various measures to guarantee the further increases of visitors to Macao, as part of its efforts to spur economic expansion, he said.
Macao's export situation, however, is not optimistic, the official said, blaming it for the slowdown of the world economy, especially that of the United States, the largest export market for Macao.
Tam said that the SAR government is confident of maintaining the stability of consumption and will encourage the investment from outside.
The rights and interests of the employees in Macao will be respected and protected in line with law, he said.
(People’s Daily 05/03/2001)
