As at the end of April 2006, there were a total of 7,537 persons registering for work with the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC), the National Statistics Office said yesterday.

Of these, 7,000 were registering for work under Part 1, and 537 were registered under Part 2.

The number of registered unemployed dropped by 44 over the preceding month. On the other hand, when one compares the figures for April 2005 and April 2006, the number of registered unemployed dropped by 179 persons.

Of the total unemployed, the unemployment in Malta reached 6,876 persons, while unemployment in Gozo stood at 661 persons.

During April 2006, the number of new registrants under Part 1 of the unemployment register amounted to 196 persons.

The age distribution of the registrants as at the end of April 2006, was such that 2,294 persons (30.4 per cent) were under the age of 24.

Further analysis of the age variable indicates that, in April 2006, there were 2,048 persons (27.2 per cent) aged 45 and over registering for work.

Among the total number of unemployed, 3,194 or 42.4 per cent had been looking for a job for less than 20 weeks, while a further 2,653 persons (35.2 per cent) had been looking for a job for more than a year.

In terms of occupations, the most common type of occupations sought by men relates to trades, service-related and elementary work. On the other hand, women tend to go more for clerical, services and sales occupations.