Venetian Macao shines as Macau’s gaming sector rebounds, boosting workers' wages by 8.2%. (Image:  Iain Masterton / Alamy)

Full-time employees of the over 40 casinos in Macau saw their average June wage increase by 8.2% year-on-year to approximately $3,330 as the Macau’s gaming sector continued to recover from the long-term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Home to nearly 713,000 people, Macau also hosts some of the world’s largest and most lavish casino resorts, including the Venetian Macao by American operator Las Vegas Sands Corporation. 

Colloquially known as ‘the Las Vegas of the East’, the city is moreover the site of SJM Holdings’ lotus-shaped Grand Lisboa venue in addition to the 2,200-room City of Dreams development from Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited. 

Beneficial Boost

Official information from Macau’s Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) showed the average June wage for a local casino dealer rose by 6.5% to roughly $2,700 largely due to extended working hours and a hike in salaries. This came even as the total number of tourists visiting the city during the 30-day period dropped by 5.2% sequentially to slightly beyond 2.55 million.

However, the DSEC revealed the aggregate tally of people holidaying in Macau since the start of 2024 had swelled by 43.6% year-on-year to almost 16.72 million, with an impressive 69% having set off from mainland China. The government agency furthermore divulged associated spending had improved by 16.4% to about $4.71 billion even as per capita expenditure dipped by 18.9% to $281.

Positive Prospects

The DSEC disclosed there were 52,518 full-time casino workers in Macau as of June 30, which represented an escalation of 1.6% year-on-year, although the number employed as dealers had dipped by 0.9% to 23,467. 

Further highlighting the recovery of the local gaming industry following the damaging coronavirus pandemic, the DSEC explained staff openings in Macau casinos had swelled by more than 340.7% year-on-year to stand at 498 while the larger job vacancy rate had increased by 0.7% to hit 0.9%.

“In view of the further recovery of tourism-related industries underpinned by the rising number of visitor arrivals, establishments required additional manpower to meet demand,” read a statement from the DSEC.

Occupational Opportunities

The DSEC finished by asserting casinos in Macau had hired 1,492 new employees during the second quarter of 2024 with 1,143 people having headed the other way. It stated this took the recruitment rate for the three-month period up by 1% to 2.9% as the associated turnover tally dropped by 0.2% to 2.2% so as to be indicative of ‘an increase in the demand for manpower in the gaming sector’. 

This information was released about three weeks after Leong Sun Iok from the minority Macau Federation of Trade Unions political party urged local casino operators to up their efforts at supporting the mental and physical health of workers. The legislator told the Macau Daily Times the industry has not yet re-established its pre-pandemic benefits regime and often asks employees to handle unreasonably large numbers of patrons.

“I appeal to concessionaires to reduce the pressure on workers, hiring more workers promptly and helping them resolve problems according to their needs,” Leong said. “Warning letters should not be issued so readily but should be only for good reason in the name of keeping a harmonious employment relationship.”