While the value of Macau dining receipts edged up by 4.6 per cent last year, this was mainly because restaurant numbers jumped by 172, according to the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).
Macau had 2284 restaurants at the end of the year, including eating and drinking places and cooked-food stalls at municipal markets.
Receipts for the year totalled MOP 10.4 billion (US$1.3 billion), with the Gross Value Added of the sector (its contribution to the economy) rising a slight 0.3 per cent year-on-year to MOP 3.62 billion.
Meanwhile, restaurant business expenditure increased 8.3 per cent to MOP 9.87 billion overall. Of this, MOP 3.75 billion was spent on buying goods, up 6.2 per cent, while staff costs jumped 10.1 per cent to MOP 3.42 billion.
Running expenses also grew 9 per cent to MOP 2.68 billion. Of this, 43.6 per cent was spent on rent, which rose by 14.2 per cent to MOP 1.17 billion.
The DSEC says the the number of people engaged in the industry rose by 1897 during the year to 32,257, of whom 95.4 per cent were employees.