NEWS | Wednesday, 22 August 2007

Unemployment drops in July

The number of registered unemployed dropped by almost 750 persons in July when compared to the same month last year.
In July there were 6,332 persons registering for unemployment with the ETC.
In the 12 months to July all age groups showed a decline in the number of registered unemployed except those aged 45 and over.
Significant drops were registered in the younger age groups with the under-20 category seeing a drop of 21.7 per cent.
A drop of 20.9 per cent was reported among those aged between 20 and 24.
The number of registered unemployed between the ages of 25 and 29 dropped by 14.4 per cent while those aged between 30 and 44 dropped by 9.3 per cent.
Proving that it is still difficult for persons over 45 to find employment, the statistics show that unemployment among over 45 year oldsincreased by 0.7 per cent.
In the 12 months to July, the duration of unemployment diminished across all the board. A drop of 8.7 per cent occurred among those persons who have been registering for work for under 20 weeks while a drop of 25.4 per cent was reported among those who have been registering for work between 21 and 52 weeks.
A further drop of 3.3 per cent was reported among those who have been registering for work for over a year.
The statistics also show that among men the most sought after occupations are related to elementary duties, services and trades, whereas women tended to seek jobs which were clerical or service-oriented.