During the first quarter this year, the Labour Force Survey showed that there was a statistically significant increase in employment over 2008, the National Statistics Office reported yesterday.

Labour Status

During the first quarter of 2009 the number of employed persons stood at 161,310 which is a statistically significant increase over the same period in 2008. The number of unemployed persons was estimated to be 11,265, whereas the number of inactive persons stood at 176,387.

Amongst males, the highest activity rates were recorded in the 25 to 54 age group, whereas amongst females the highest rates were in the 15 to 24 age group.

The Employed Population

The majority of employed males were engaged in manufacturing activities (18 per cent), followed by 16 per cent working in wholesale and retail trade. By contrast, most of the employed female population were in education-related activities (17.1 per cent), followed by 15.8 per cent employed in the wholesale and retail trade sector. As illustrated in Table 11, most employed persons were engaged in service-oriented jobs.

In terms of professional status, the number of self-employed during the first quarter, was estimated to make up 14.5 per cent of the employed population. The number of full-time employed persons stood at 143,893 or 89.2 per cent of total employed persons. More females were likely to have a part-time job or a full-time job with reduced hours when compared to males, and in this regard 22.5 per cent of employed females had such a working condition.

The average gross annual salary of employees was estimated to be e13,779. This amount is the equivalent of the basic salary and excludes extra payments such as overtime, bonuses and allowances as explained in the methodological notes. Better-paid jobs were within the category of legislators, senior officials and managers whereas the financial intermediation sector recorded the highest average gross annual salary by economic activity.

The Unemployed Population

Between the first quarter of 2008 and 2009 there was no statistically significant change in the number of unemployed. Most of the unemployed were aged between 15 and 24. The majority of unemployed males were looking for a job for 12 months and more.

The unemployment rate for the period under review stood at 6.5 per cent.