The number of registered unemployed in September declined by 101, or 1.5 per cent, when compared to the corresponding month last year, the National Statistics Office said.

It said that the number of unemployed stood at 6,554.

In the 12 months to September, the number of registered unemployed in Malta decreased by 106, while that in Gozo went up by five.

In total, the registered unemployed amounted to 5,874 in Malta and 680 in Gozo.

Year-on-year, men registered as unemployed decreased by 150, or 2.8 per cent, while women increased by 49, or 3.5 per cent. There were 5,120 men and 1,434 women registering for work in September.

Unemployment declined across all age groups, with the largest absolute decrease being recorded among the 25-29 age bracket.

When compared to September 2010, the number of persons registering for work for less than 20 weeks increased by 161, or 5.7 per cent, while the number of persons registering for more than one year declined by 236, or 9.3 per cent.

In September, the number of disabled persons registering for work decreased by 20, or 4.6 per cent, over a year ago.

Most unemployed men were seeking occupations related to services, sales and crafts, whereas women sought clerical and service-oriented occupations.

In May, the registered unemployment, excluding part-timers, stood at 4.1 per cent of the labour supply. This rate stood at 4.9 per cent and 2.5 per cent for men and women, respectively.