For the second quarter of 2009, the Labour Force Survey showed that there was an increase in employment and unemployment over the previous year.

Labour Status

During the second quarter of 2009 the number of employed persons stood at 161,279. The number of unemployed persons was estimated to be 12,109, whereas the number of inactive persons stood at 175,688.

During the period under review, 59 per cent of persons aged between 15 and 64, were either working or unemployed. Amongst males and females, the highest activity rates were recorded in the age groups 25 to 54.

The Employed Population

The majority of employed males were engaged in manufacturing activities, (18.5 per cent), followed by 16.6 per cent working in the sector of wholesale and retail trade. By contrast, most of the female employed population worked in education-related activities (15.7 per cent), followed by 14.5 per cent employed in the wholesale and retail trade sector.

Employed persons were mostly engaged within service-oriented jobs. This category includes occupations such as hairdressers, policemen and salespersons. Clerical and service oriented occupations predominated amongst the female employed persons whereas males were mostly engaged in craft related and technical or associate professional jobs.

In terms of professional status, the number of self employed were estimated at 13.9 per cent of total employed persons. The number of full-time employed persons stood at 142,881 or 88.6 per cent of the total number of employed. More females were likely to have a part-time or full-time job with reduced hours job than males.

The average gross annual salary of employees was estimated at €13,896. This amount is the equivalent of the basic salary and excludes extra payments such as overtime, bonuses and allowances as explained in the methodological notes. The highest average salary for employees was in the legislators, senior officials and managerial occupational category whereas the financial intermediation sector recorded the highest average gross annual salary by sector.

The Unemployed Population

Between 2008 and 2009 there was an increase in the number of unemployed. Most of the unemployed were between 15 to 24 years. The majority of unemployed males were looking for a job for 12 months and more.

The unemployment rate for the period under review stood at 7.0 per cent.

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