Macao SAR, China: Employment in services (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Macao SAR, China's employment in services (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) rose 0.12 percentage points on 2024 (from 88.52% to 88.63%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.49 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.47 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.78 percentage points in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.53 percentage points in 2006. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.3 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 97% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 89.92% for 2028. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2023 to 2025 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.09%, against 0.55% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2025, Macao SAR, China had the 3rd highest value of the 182 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Macao SAR, China in the 2025 ranking

• Djibouti — 1st of 182: 92.17%
• Luxembourg — 2nd of 182: 91.48%
• Singapore — 4th of 182: 85.91%
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 5th of 182: 85.8%
• Channel Islands — 6th of 182: 85.29%

What this measures

Employment is defined as persons of working age who were engaged in any activity to produce goods or provide services for pay or profit, whether at work during the reference period or not at work due to temporary absence from a job, or to working-time arrangement. The services sector consists of wholesale and retail trade and restaurants and hotels; transport, storage, and communications; financing, insurance, real estate, and business services; and community, social, and personal services, in accordance with divisions 6-9 (ISIC 2) or categories G-Q (ISIC 3) or categories G-U (ISIC 4).

Limitations: There are many differences in how countries define and measure employment status, particularly members of the armed forces, self-employed workers, and unpaid family workers. Where members of the armed forces are included, they are allocated to the service sector, causing that sector to be somewhat overstated relative to the service sector in economies where they are excluded. Where data are obtained from establishment surveys, data cover only employees; thus self-employed and unpaid family workers are excluded. In such cases the employment share of the agricultural sector is severely underreported.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 35 values

Employment in services (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in nearby economies

• Australia — 78.53% (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — 78.41% (2025)
• Cambodia — 37.72% (2025)
• China — 46.53% (2025)
• Fiji — 51.71% (2025)
• French Polynesia — 83.75% (2025)
• Guam — 79.18% (2025)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 85.8% (2025)
• Indonesia

More social protection & labor data for Macao SAR, China

• Net migration — -328 (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 43.12% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 45.29% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 44.14% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 73.89% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 85.29% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Macao SAR, China's employment in services (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)?

88.63% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1991?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.SRV.EMPL.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: January 17, 2026 Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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