The number of registered unemployed dropped by 391 last January when compared to the same month last year, according to the National Statistics Office.

The number of unemployed last month stood at 7,308 persons, with the categories of men in the 30 to 44 and the 45 plus brackets accounting for nearly two thirds of the registered unemployed. In the case of women, who accounted for 22.8 per cent of registrants, the majority of unemployed were aged between 30 and 44.

From a regional perspective, the number of registered unemployed in Gozo remained relatively stable when compared to January 2006 while those in Malta decreased by 387 persons.

The NSO said that among men, occupations related to services, trades and elementary duties were the most common, whereas women tended to seek jobs which were clerical or service-oriented. The unemployment rates for January 2007 were not available because the data on the labour supply for this month were not yet available, the NSO said.

The NSO's labour market statistics unit said the registered unemployment rate in September 2006 stood at 4.9 per cent of the labour supply showing no change from the same month of the previous year.

The unemployment rate for men stood at 5.3 per cent and that for women stood at 3.9 per cent.

The long-term unemployment rate, which refers to people who have been registering for work for more than 12 months, stood at 1.8 per cent.

The unemployment rate among older workers (45 years and over) was 3.8 per cent while the unemployment rate among young people (under 25 years of age) stood at 8.1 per cent.