Labour Force Survey shows 6.8% increase in employment

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The largest share of employed persons was recorded among persons aged between 25 and 34 years, for both males and females.

During the third quarter of 2018, Labour Force Survey estimates indicate an increase of 6.8 per cent in employment when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2017, the National Statistics Office said in a statement.

Labour Force Survey estimates indicate that, during the third quarter of 2018, total employment stood at 239,544 accounting to more than half the population aged 15 and over. Unemployed persons stood at 9,065 (2.2 per cent) while inactive persons totalled 161,742 (39.4 per cent).

The activity rate for the quarter under review was estimated at 75.6 per cent with the highest rate recorded among persons aged 2554 (87.2 per cent).

The Employed Population On average, out of every 100 persons aged between 15 to 64 years, 73 were employed. The male employment rate for this age bracket was 81.9 per cent while that for females stood at 63.1 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 13.9 per cent of all persons with a main job.

The majority of employed persons worked on a full-time basis totalling 204,494 and 35,050 had a part-time job as their primary employment. Results show that, on average, full-timers work 41.6 hours while part-timers work 22.8 hours per week. The average annual basic salary of employees for the third quarter of 2018 was estimated at €19,076.

The highest basic salary was recorded in the Information and communication sector. Average annual salaries varied from €32,979 among managers to €11,691 among persons employed in elementary occupations.

The Unemployed and Inactive Population The unemployment rate for the third quarter of 2018, stood at 3.7 per cent.

The largest share of unemployed persons was recorded among persons aged 25 to 74 years.

Among the unemployed, 66.4 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 (41.7 per cent).

According to the Labour Force Survey 52.2 per cent of the 15 plus population have attained a low level of education. This comprises persons with less than 5 ordinary level or equivalent qualifications. Among the employed population 30.6 per cent had a tertiary level education.