There were 7,298 people registering as unemployed last month 634 (9.5 per cent) more than in the same month last year and marginally more than in June.

The National Statistics Office said that according to data provided by the Employment and Training Corporation indicated a year-on-year growth of 820 persons (13.7 per cent) registering as new job seekers, re-entrants into the labour market or people who have been made redundant.

The data shows a decrease of 186 persons (27.8 per cent) registering as workers who have been dismissed from work due to disciplinary action, left of their own free will, refused work or training opportunities or were struck off the register after an inspection by the Law Enforcement personnel.

On a regional level, registered unemployment in Malta rose by 576 (9.6 per cent) to 6,565 while that in Gozo and Comino increased by 58 (8.6 per cent) to 733.

The number of registrants aged 45 and over went up by 227 or 8.1 per cent, while those aged under 20 dropped by 48, or 10.7 per cent, when compared to 2012 levels.

A year-on-year increase of 543 persons was recorded in registrants whose duration of unemployment exceeded one year. There was a marginal increase of 34 in unemployment among persons who had been registering for less than 21 weeks

The number of persons with disability registering employment dropped by 4.5 per cent when compared to June 2012.