In the third quarter last year the gainfully occupied population grew by 2.1 per cent  compared to the previous year, the NSO said today, quoting the Labour Force Survey.

The employment rate stood at 60 per cent, while the unemployment rate
was 6.6 per cent.

The activity rate for the quarter under review was estimated at 64 per cent  - 2 percentage points more than the corresponding quarter in 2011. The male activity rate remained practically unchanged when compared to 2011, while that for women increased by 4 percentage points.

The Employed Population

The employment rate for the third quarter last year was estimated at 60 per cent, with the 25-54 age bracket recording the highest rate.

A third of employed men were engaged in wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and household goods, hotels and restaurants and transport and communication. On the other hand, employed women were mostly engaged in other service activities, which include jobs in public administration, education, the health sector, and Other Community, social and personal service
activities.

Nearly a quarter of women in employment were engaged in service-oriented jobs. This category included occupations such as hairdressers, waiters and salespersons. Moreover, men were mostly engaged in craft-related jobs (16 per cent) such as builders, plasterers, and maintenance persons, among other occupations.

The self-employed accounted for 13 per cent of the total work force. The majority of employed persons, 148,833, were on a full-time basis whereas an estimated 21,061 persons (12 per cent) were on a part-time basis. A further 4,232 were in full-time jobs with reduced hours.

The average gross annual salary of employees was estimated at €15,513. This amount refers to the basic salary and excludes extra payments such as overtime, bonuses and allowances. The highest average gross annual salary for employees was recorded in financial, real estate, renting and business activities.