A total of 7,521 persons were registered as unemployed in September , an increase of 1,425 persons when compared to the same month last year, the NSO said today. The figure was down from 7,743 in August.
The NSO said there were 6,751 persons without a job in Malta and 770 in Gozo.
In the 12 months to September 2009, the persons registering for work in Malta increased by 1,350 (25 per cent), whilst those registering for work in Gozo went up by 75 (11 per cent).
Over the same period, the number of men on the unemployment register increased by 1,306 (21.7 per cent), whilst the number of women increased by 389 (29.2 per cent).
Between September 2008 and September 2009, all age groups saw an increase in the number of registered unemployed. The larger year on year percentage increases were in the ‘Under 20’ and ‘20 and 24’ age brackets.
In the twelve months to September 2009, those persons who had been registering for work for under 20 weeks increased by 595 (20.7 per cent). On the other hand, the persons whose duration of unemployment exceeded the 52 weeks increased by 350 (16.7 per cent).
On a gender basis, the unemployment rate for men stood at 5.4 per cent, while the unemployment rate for women stood at 3.5 per cent. The long-term unemployment rate, referring to people who had been registering for work for more than twelve months, stood at 1.5 per cent. The unemployment rate among older workers (45 and over) stood at 4.8 per cent while the unemployment rate among young people (under 25) stood at 6.1 per cent.