Record unemployment hits Macau

Unemployment in Macau reached a record 7.1 per cent between April and June.

It is the highest rate since the Government started measuring unemployment in the late 1980s.

The Statistics and Census Department said yesterday about 15,000 people among a total workforce of 214,000 were jobless.

The rate stood at 6.4 per cent at the end of last year. Labour activists claim the 'real' unemployment rate is about 10 per cent.

The Government has announced a number of job-creation measures and increased unemployment benefits.

The workforce includes about 28,000 imported workers from the mainland, the Philippines and elsewhere.