MACAO, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Macao's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2018 expanded by 1.6 percent year-on-year in real terms, the special administrative region's statistic service said here on Wednesday.

The latest report from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) showed that the economy grew at a slower pace mainly due to a continuous decline in construction investment and a notable slowdown in growth of exports of services.

External demand growth eased as exports of services rose by 6.3 percent year-on-year, in which exports of gaming services and other tourism services went up by 5.8 percent and 11.4 percent respectively. Meanwhile, exports of goods dropped by 8.8 percent.

Domestic demand weakened, with investment declining substantially by 20.1 percent year-on-year in the third quarter. Private consumption expenditure, government final consumption expenditure and imports of goods increased by 4.1 percent, 5.4 percent and 2.9 percent respectively. The implicit deflator of GDP, which measures the overall changes in prices, went up by 3.8 percent year-on-year.

Total employment and employment earnings increased amid satisfactory employment situation, driving private consumption expenditure up by 4.1 percent year-on-year, smaller than the 5.9 percent growth in the previous quarter. Household final consumption expenditure in the domestic market and abroad increased by 3.8 percent and 5.9 percent respectively.

Government final consumption expenditure grew at a faster rate of 5.4 percent year-on-year, larger than the 4.4 percent rise in the previous quarter. Compensation of employees and net purchases of goods and services went up by 2.7 percent and 8.4 percent respectively.

Gross fixed capital formation, the gauge of investment, contracted by 20.1 percent year-on-year, accelerating from the 13.8 percent drop in the second quarter. Private investment fell by 17.8 percent year-on-year, in which construction investment declined by 20.6 percent owing to a notable drop in large-scale construction projects and equipment investment edged down by 1.0 percent.

Government investment slid by 32.7 percent year-on-year, in which public construction plunged by 45.7 percent upon the successive completion of infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, equipment investment expanded by 53.0 percent.

Merchandise trade grew at a much slower rate. Total merchandise trade inched up by 1.4 percent year-on-year, in which imports of goods increased by 2.9 percent but exports of goods dropped by 8.8 percent.

Service trade was the major driving force for economic growth. Increases in visitor arrivals and visitors' spending drove total exports of services up by 6.3 percent year-on-year, far smaller than the 11.9 percent rise in the second quarter.

Exports of gaming services and other tourism services grew by 5.8 percent and 11.4 percent respectively. Meanwhile, imports of services increased by 3.0 percent year-on-year, slower than the 14.6 percent growth in the previous quarter.

The report also said in the first three quarters of 2018, Macao GDP expanded by 5.6 percent year-on-year in real terms. The economic growth for 2017 was revised upward to 9.7 percent. That of the first quarter in 2018 was revised up to 9.4 percent, and that of the second quarter was revised down to 5.9 percent.