At 6,373 persons, registered unemployment in December 2008 increased by 201 persons when compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.

Registered Unemployed: December 2008 – In Malta, the registered unemployed amounted to 5,655 persons, whereas in Gozo these amounted to 718. In the twelve months to December 2008, both Malta and Gozo experienced an increase in unemployment (189 in Malta and 12 in Gozo).

With regard to persons registering for work in the twelve months to December 2008, the number of men increased by 320, whereas the number of women decreased by 119.

In the twelve months to December 2008, persons registering for work increased within the 25-29, 30-44 and 45+ age groups. On the other hand, they decreased within the under 20 and 20-24 age groups.

Between December 2007 and December 2008, persons who have been registering for work for 53 weeks and over decreased by 84.

Among men, occupations related to elementary duties and tradeswork were the most commonly sought, whereas women tended to seek jobs which were clerical or service-oriented.

The unemployment rates for December 2008 are not yet published since the administrative data on the labour supply for this month is not yet available.

Registered Unemployment Rate: August 2008 – In August 2008, the registered unemployment rate stood at 4.0 per cent of the labour supply. On a gender basis, the unemployment rate for men stood at 4.5 per cent, while the unemployment rate for women stood at 3.0 per cent.

The long-term unemployment rate, referring to people who have been registering for work for more than twelve months, stood at 1.4 per cent.

The unemployment rate among older workers (45 and over) was 3.8 per cent while the unemployment rate among young people (under 25) stood at 4.5 per cent

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