Labour Force Survey estimates indicate an increase of 1.9 per cent in employment in the first quarter of this year when compared to the
corresponding quarter of 2013, the National Statistics Office said today.

Total employment stood at 175,630, accounting for almost half the population aged 15 and over. Unemployed persons stood at 11,255 (3.2 per cent) while inactive persons totalled 167,151 (47.2 per
cent).

The activity rate for the quarter under review was estimated at 64.8 per cent. When compared to the previous year, the activity rates among men and women increased by 0.8 and 1.3 percentage points respectively. The highest activity rate was recorded among persons aged 25-54 (78.8 per cent).
 
On average, out of every 100 persons aged 15 to 64, 61 were employed. This rate increased by 0.9 percentage points when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2013.

Self-employed persons accounted for 13.6 per cent of the total employed population. The majority of employed persons worked on a full-time basis and totalled 149,691 (85.2 per cent). An estimated 21,088 (12.0 per cent) had a part-time job as their primary employment. A further 4,851 were working on a full-time with reduced hours basis.

AVERAGE SALARY

The average gross annual salary of employees for the first quarter was estimated at €16,036. This amount refers to the gross annual basic salary and excludes extra payments such as overtime, bonuses and allowances, as explained in the methodological notes.

Average annual salaries varied from €27,561 among managers to €11,312 among elementary staff.

UNEMPLOYMENT

The unemployment rate for the first quarter, stood at 6.0 per cent. The largest share of unemployed persons was recorded among persons
aged 25 and over. Among unemployed persons, 48.2 per cent stated that they had been seeking work for at least 12 months.