Macao saw a 3.4-percent unemployment rate from November 2006 to January 2007, a drop of 0.5 percentage point on a year-on-year base, according to official statistics issued Thursday.

The figures from the government-run Statistics and Census Service showed that the number was the lowest since 1997. The unemployment rate stood at 3.2 percent in 1997 and peaked at 7.1 percent in 2001.

The number of jobless residents seeking their first job was around 900, or 9.2 percent of the unemployed population, from November to January, according to the statistics.

Macao's total labor force was estimated at 291,000 in the period, the figures showed.

The special administrative region has a population of over 508,000.

(Xinhua News Agency March 2, 2007)