MACAO - Macao's unemployment rate for the period of May to July 2011 remained unchanged at 2.7 percent from the previous period of April to June 2011, according to the figures released on Monday by the city's Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

The number of the unemployed reached 9,000, with 12.3 percent being fresh labor force entrants searching for their first job, up by 4.9 percentage points over the previous period, the figures indicated.

In comparison with the same period of the previous year, the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate dropped by 0.2 and 0.7 percentage point respectively, while the labor force participation rate rose by 0.3 percentage point, according to the DSEC.

The city's total labor force stood at 340,000 in the period, with the labor force participation rate at 71.8 percent.

The employed population increased by 2,200 over the previous period to 331,000, in which employment of hotel sector and retail trade saw increase, while that of real estate and business activities registered decrease, the DSEC also said.