During the third quarter of 2015, the Labour Force Survey estimates indicate an increase of 2.8 per cent in employment when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2014. The National Statistics Office said today that total employment stood at 189,565 accounting for more than half the population aged 15 and over

Unemployed persons stood at 10,485 (2.9 per cent) while inactive persons totalled 160,978 (44.6 per cent).

The activity rate for the quarter under review was estimated at 68.9 per cent. The highest activity rate was recorded among persons aged 25-54 (81.9 per cent). When compared to the previous year, the total activity rate increased by 1.4 percentage points.

On average, out of every 100 persons aged 15 to 64, 65 were employed. The highest employment rate was recorded among persons aged between 25 and 54 and stood at 78.7 per cent. The male employment rate for this age bracket was 92.2 per cent while that for females stood at 64.4 per cent.

Employed men were mostly engaged in wholesale and retail trade, transportation and storage, accommodation and food service activities (29.4 per cent). On the other hand, at 40.8 per cent, employed women were mostly engaged in public administration, defence, education, human health and social work activities.

Self-employed persons accounted for 13.7 per cent of the total employed population. The majority of employed persons worked on a full-time basis and totalled 158,761. An estimated 24,756 (13.1 per cent) had a part-time job as their primary employment. A further 6,048 were working on a full-time with reduced hours basis.

The average annual basic salary of employees for the third quarter of 2015 was estimated at €16,634. This amount refers to the annual basic salary and excludes extra payments such as overtime, bonuses and allowances, as explained in the methodological notes.

The highest average annual basic salary for employees was recorded in the information and communication sector. Average annual salaries varied from €29,576 among managers to €10,840 among persons engaged in elementary occupations.

Survey results estimate that the unemployment rate for the third quarter of 2015 stood at 5.3 per cent. The largest share of unemployed persons was recorded among persons aged 25 and over. Among the unemployed, 45.3 per cent stated that they had been seeking work for at least 12 months.

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