Registered unemployed up 2.9% over April 2011

Records provided by the Employment and Training Corporation show that during April, the number of persons registering as unemployed in Malta and Gozo stood at 6,058 and 715 respectively. Accordingly, in the twelve-month period to April, the number of registered unemployed increased by 173 and 15 persons in Malta and Gozo respectively.

The number of persons registering under Part 1 of the unemployment register increased by 113 (1.9 per cent), while those registering under Part 2 went up by 75 (12.3 per cent). A total of 5,283 men and 1,490 women were registering for work during April.

Year-on-year unemployment among men edged up by 0.4 per cent, while female unemployment increased by 12.6 per cent. At 2,799, unemployed persons aged 45 and over increased by 8.4 per cent between April 2011 and April 2012, whereas unemployment among persons under 25 decreased by 2.2 per cent.

When compared to April 2011, the number of persons registering for work for more than one year increased by 31 or 1.3 per cent, while persons who were registering for less than 21 weeks increased by 112, or 4.0 per cent. Persons with a disability registering under Part 1 of the unemployment register numbered 472, an increase of 69 over the corresponding month last year.

In line with past trends, the largest share of unemployed men were seeking occupations in services, sales and crafts, whereas women mostly sought clerical jobs.

Registered unemployment rate: December 2011

In December 2011, the registered unemployment rate stood at 4.2 per cent of the labour supply (excluding part-timers): 5.0 per cent for men and 2.7 per cent for women.

The unemployment rate for persons registering under Part 1 stood at 4.5 per cent among persons aged 45 and over, and 5.0 per cent for persons aged less than 25.

The unemployment rate of persons who had been registering for work for at least one year under Part 1 of the unemployment register stood at 1.5 per cent: 1.9 per cent for men and 0.7 per cent for women.