Macao saw a 3.5-percent unemployment rate in the statistic term of October to December in 2006, a drop of 0.5 percentage point over the same period in 2005, according to official statistics issued Tuesday.

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

The number of jobless residents seeking their first job was around 1,100, or 11.7 percent of the unemployed population, from October to December, according to the statistics.

Macao's total labor force was estimated at 286,000 in the period, the figures showed.

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

(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2007)