Administrative records provided by the Employment and Training Corporation indicate that the number of full-time employed persons during May 2011 stood at 148,546, an increase of 2.2 per cent when compared to the corresponding month last year. During the same period the number of registered unemployed dropped by 9.7 per cent to 6,366.

Sectors with the largest increases were health and social work and real estate, renting and business activities. By contrast, construction and transport, storage and communication registered decreases of 105 and 58 persons respectively.

The private sector accounted for 72.2 per cent of total employment, with the largest concentrations being in wholesale and retail trade and manufacturing activities. Over the one-year period to May 2011, employment in the private sector increased by 2.3 per cent. The largest increases were recorded in real estate, renting and business activities, manufacturing and other community, social and personal service activities.

A total of 41,225 persons were employed with the public sector. This sector registered an increase in employment of 1.9 per cent when compared to the previous year. The most significant increases were recorded in health and social work, whereas construction and manufacturing experienced drops.

During the month under review, the number of persons registered as full-time self-employed stood at 17,549, with a decrease of 0.2 per cent over 2010. The number of employees working on a full-time basis reached 130,997, an increase of 3,213 between May 2010 and the comparative month this year.

In May 2011, total part-time employment increased by 2,247 over the preceding year. The number of persons whose part-time job was their primary occupation accounted for 56.4 per cent of total part-time employment. The majority of these persons were women. By contrast, most of the 22,708 persons with a part-time job as a second job were men.

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