At 6,988 persons, registered unemployment in January 2009 increased by 525 persons when compared to the corresponding month last year.
Registered Unemployed: January 2009
In Malta, the registered unemployed amounted to 6,220 persons, whereas in Gozo these amounted to 768. In the twelve months to January 2009, both Malta and Gozo experienced an increase in unemployment (496 in Malta and 29 in Gozo).
With regard to persons registering for work in the twelve months to January 2009, the number of men increased by 519, whereas the number of women increased by 6.
In the twelve months to January 2009, the number of persons registering for work increased across all the age groups.
Between January 2008 and January 2009, those persons who have been registering for work for under 20 weeks increased by 297.
This release also provides information on the occupations being sought by unemployed persons. Among men occupations related to elementary work, plant and machine operation and crafts and related trades were the most common, whereas women tended to seek jobs which were clerical or service-oriented.
The unemployment rates for January 2009 is not featured since the administrative data on the labour supply for this month is not yet available.
Registered Unemployment Rate: September 2008
In September 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 4.6 per cent, while the unemployment rate for women stood at 2.8 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 3.9 per cent while the unemployment rate among young people (under 25) stood at 4.2 per cent