Labour Force Survey figures for the fourth quarter last year indicate that employment went up by two percentage points when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2010.

The number of employed persons was estimated at 167,627, or 47 per cent of the total number of persons aged 15 and over. The number of unemployed persons stood at 11,778, and the number of inactive persons stood at 176,783, amounting to 3 per cent and 50 per cent of the total population aged 15 and over respectively.

Out of every 100 persons aged 15 to 64, 57 were employed. The employment rate registered an increase of 1 percentage point when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2010. Similar increases were recorded for both male and female employment rates.

The largest proportion of employed men (31 per cent) were engaged in the following economic activities: wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and household goods; hotels and restaurants, and transport and communication. On the other hand, most of the female employed population (46 per cent) worked in other service activities, which includes jobs in the government departments and ministries, education, health sector, and other community, social and personal service activities.

The largest share of employed persons worked in service-oriented jobs – 17 per cent. This category includes occupations such as hairdressers, waiters and salespersons. Service-oriented occupations were predominant among female workers (23 per cent), while men were mostly engaged in craft-related jobs (17 per cent).

In terms of professional status, a majority of 87 per cent of employed persons were employees, with the remaining 13 per cent working as self-employed. The majority of employed persons, 146,129 or 87 per cent, were working on a full-time basis. On the other hand, 21,498 were engaged in part-time jobs or were working on full-time with reduced hours.

During the period under review, the average gross annual salary of employees was estimated at €15,013. This amount refers to the basic salary and excludes extra payments such as overtime, bonuses and allowances as explained in the methodological notes. The highest average gross annual salary for employees was recorded in financial, real estate, renting and business activities. Moreover, the highest average salary by main occupation was for legislators, senior officials and managerial occupations.

The unemployment rate for the quarter under review was estimated at 7 per cent, at par with the corresponding quarter in 2010. The unemployment rate for males stood at 6 per cent and that for females was estimated at 7 per cent.

The largest share of unemployed persons was recorded within the 15-24 age group. Nearly half of the unemployed persons said they had been seeking work for 12 months or more.

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