There was a 3.0 per cent jump in employment in the last quarter of last year when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2014, according to the Labour Force Survey.

Total employment stood at 186,897 accounting to more than half the population aged 15 and over. Unemployed persons stood at 10,285 (2.8 per cent) while inactive persons totalled 164,916 (45.6 per cent).

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The activity rate for the quarter under review was estimated at 67.5 per cent with the highest rate recorded among persons aged 25-54 (80.9 per cent). When compared to the previous year, the total activity rate increased by 1.8 percentage points.

The employed population

On average, out of every 100 persons between 15 to 64 years, 64 were employed. The highest employment rate was recorded among persons aged between 25 and 54 and stood at 77.4 per cent. Men's employment rate for this age bracket was 92.2 per cent while that for females stood at 61.7 per cent.

Employed men were mostly engaged in wholesale and retail trade, transportation and storage, accommodation and food service activities (30.7 per cent). On the other hand, at 40.6 per cent, employed women were mostly engaged in Public administration, defence, education, human health and social work activities.

Self-employed persons accounted for 14.1 per cent of the total employed population). Among the employed, the majority worked on a full-time basis and totalled 158,176. An estimated 23,463 (12.6 per cent) had a part-time job as their primary employment. A further 5,258 were working on a full-time with reduced hours basis.

The average annual basic salary of employees for the fourth quarter of 2015 was estimated at €16,882. This amount refers to the annual basic salary and excludes extra payments such as overtime, bonuses and allowances, as explained in the methodological notes. The highest average annual basic salary for employees was recorded in the financial and insurance activities sector. Average annual salaries varied from €29,917 among managers to €11,227 among elementary occupations.

The unemployed population

Survey results estimate that the unemployment rate for the fourth quarter of 2015, stood at 5.2 per cent. The largest share of unemployed persons was recorded among persons aged 25 and over.

Among the unemployed, 39.0 per cent stated that they had been seeking work for at least 12 months. 