At 7,333 persons, registered unemployment in November 2006 increased by 140 persons when compared to the same month last year. The unemployment rate in July 2006 was unchanged at 4.6 per cent, the National Statistics Office reported yesterday, basing its data on figures provided by the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC).

For the month under review, the number of registered unemployed stood at 7,333.

When comparing November with the same month last year, unemployment in-creased by 140 persons.

The categories of men in the 30-44 and the 45+ age brackets together accounted for 63 per cent of male registrants.

In the case of women, who accounted for 23.3 per cent of total registrants, a good proportion of unemployed were under 25 years of age.

From a regional perspective, the number of registered unemployed in Gozo rose by 92 persons compared to November 2005, while its counterpart in Malta increased by 48 persons.

Compared to last year, there has been an increase in the unemployed registering for 21 to 52 weeks, and a drop in the long-term unemployed.

Among men, occupations related to crafts, plant and machine operators and elementary duties were the most common jobs sought, whereas women tended more to seek jobs which were clerical or service-oriented.

Registered Unemployment Rate: July 2006

In July 2006, the registered unemployment rate stood at 4.6 per cent of the labour supply. On a gender basis, the unemployment rate for men stood at 5.3 per cent, while the unemployment rate for women stood at 3.6 per cent

The long-term unemployment rate, referring to people who have been registering for work for more than 12 months, stood at 1.7 per cent.

The unemployment rate among older workers (45 years of age and over) was 3.8 per cent while the unemployment rate among young people (under 25 years of age) stood at 7.7 per cent