Registered unemployment up 2.4% over July 2011

The number of persons registered as unemployed as at the end of July stood at 6,664 - an increase of 154, or 2.4 per cent over the corresponding month last year.

Records provided by the Employment and Training Corporation show that in July, the number of persons registering as unemployed in Malta and Gozo stood at 5,989 and 675 respectively. Accordingly, during the twelve-month period to July, the number of registered unemployed went up by 180 on the mainland, but declined by 26 in Gozo.

The number of persons registering under Part 1 of the unemployment register increased by 148 (2.5 per cent), while those registering under Part 2 went up by 6 (0.9 per cent).

When compared to last year, unemployment among men went up by 64, or 1.3 per cent, while female unemployment increased by 90, or 6.4 per cent.

Unemployment decreased among young persons, but increased among the older age groups. In particular, unemployment among persons aged under 20 decreased by 8.2 per cent, while unemployment among persons falling within the 20-24 and 25-29 age brackets decreased by 7.3 and 2.3 per cent respectively. On the other hand, unemployment among persons aged 30-34 increased by 1.6 per cent, while unemployment among persons aged 45 and over increased by 9.0 per cent.

When compared to July 2011, the number of persons who have been out of work for more than one year went up by 3.9 per cent, while persons who were registering for work for less than 21 weeks went down by 144, or 4.9 per cent.

Persons with a disability under Part 1 of the unemployment register numbered 497, an increase of 91, or 22.4 per cent, over the corresponding month last year.

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

Registered unemployment rate: March 2012

In March 2012, the registered unemployment rate stood at 4.4 per cent of the labour supply (excluding part-timers): 5.2 per cent for men and 2.9 per cent for women.

The unemployment rate for persons registering under Part 1 stood at 4.8 per cent among persons aged 45 and over, and 5.3 per cent for persons under 25 years of age.

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.