At 6,332 persons, registered unemployment in July 2007 decreased by 748 persons when compared to the same month last year, the National Statistics Office said yesterday.

The NSO provided an overview of registered unemployed persons for the month of July 2007. The source of all data was the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC).

In the twelve months to July 2007, all age groups showed a decline in the number of registered unemployed with the exception of those aged 45 years and over.

Actually, a drop of 21.7 per cent was reported among the registered unemployed aged under 20; a drop of 20.9 per cent was reported among those aged between 20 and 24; a drop of 14.4 per cent was reported among those aged between 25 and 29; and a drop of 9.3 per cent among those aged between 30 and 44. In contrast, a marginal increase of 0.7 per cent was reported among the registered unemployed aged 45 years and over.

In the twelve months to July 2007, the duration of unemployment diminished across all the periods featured. Accordingly, a drop of 8.7 per cent occurred among those persons who have been registering for work for under 20 weeks; a drop of 25.4 per cent was reported among those who have been registering for work for 21 to 52 weeks; and a drop of 3.3 per cent was reported among those who have been registering for work for over 52 weeks.

This release also provides information on the occupations being sought by the unemployed. Among men, occupations related to elementary duties, services and trades were the most common, whereas women tended to seek jobs which were clerical or service-oriented.

The unemployment rates for July 2007 are not available since the data on the labour supply for this month are not yet available.