During the fourth quarter of 2018, Labour Force Survey estimates indicate an increase of 5.4 per cent in employment when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2017.
Labour Force Survey estimates indicate that, during the fourth quarter, total employment stood at 239,427 accounting for more than half the population aged 15 and over. Unemployed persons numbered 8,713 (2.1 per cent) whereas the number of inactive persons stood at 164,245 (39.8 per cent). The activity rate for the quarter under review was estimated at 75.0 per cent with the highest rate recorded among persons aged 25 to 54 (85.9 per cent).
The Employed Population
On average, out of every 100 persons aged between 15 to 64 years, 72 were employed. The male employment rate for this age bracket was 82.3 per cent while that for females stood at 61.5 per cent. The largest share of employed persons was recorded among persons aged between 25 and 34 years, for both males and females.
Self-employed persons accounted for 14.1 per cent of all persons with a main job. The majority of employed persons worked on a full-time basis totalling 204,683 and a further 34,744 had a part-time job as their primary employment. Results show that, on average, full-timers work 41.7 hours while part-timers work 20.5 hours per week.
The average annual basic salary of employees for the fourth quarter of 2018 was estimated at €19,036. The highest basic salary was recorded in the Financial and insurance activities sector.
Average annual salaries varied from €32,942 among managers to €12,210 among persons employed in elementary occupations. The Unemployed and Inactive Population
The unemployment rate for the fourth quarter of 2018, stood at 3.5 per cent. The largest share of unemployed persons were between 25 and 74 years old. Among the unemployed, 59.4 per cent stated that they had been seeking work for less than 12 months. The main reason for inactivity relates to persons reaching retirement age or taking up early retirement (42.1 per cent)
According to the Labour Force Survey, 51.4 per cent of persons aged 15 years and over had a secondary or less level of education. Among the employed population, 29.6 per cent had a tertiary level of education.