There were nearly 12,000 unemployed people in the third quarter last year, amounting to 6.9 per cent of the population, according to the Labour Force Survey.

The National Statistics Office said the survey indicated an employment rate of 55.1 per cent (162,567 people). The number of unemployed reached 11,986 and that of inactive people 175,581.

During the period under review, 59.2 per cent of people aged between 15 and 64, were either working or unemployed. The highest activity rates were recorded within the 25-54 year-old age groups.

The employment rate for the period stood at 55.1 per cent, with a gap of 33.8 per cent between male and female rates.

The largest share of employed males, 17.7 per cent, were engaged in manufacturing activities, followed by 15.5 per cent in wholesale and retail trade.

By contrast, most of the female employed population worked in education-related activities (17.1 per cent), followed by 13.7 per cent employed in the health and social work sector.

The employed were mostly engaged within service-oriented jobs. This category includes hairdressers, policemen and salespersons. These were followed by technical associate jobs, a category predominant among females. Males were mostly engaged in craft and related trades and technical or associate professional jobs.

In terms of professional status, the self-employed were estimated at 12.7 per cent of the employed. The number of full-time employed stood at 146,510, or 90.1 per cent of the number of people in employment.

More females were likely to have a part-time job or a full-time job with reduced hours.

The average gross annual salary of employees was estimated at €13,873. This amount is the equivalent of the basic salary and excludes extra payments such as overtime, bonuses and allowances.

The financial intermediation sector recorded the highest average gross annual salary by sector, whereas the highest average salary for employees by main occupation was in the legislators, senior officials and managerial occupational category.

Most of the unemployed were aged between 15 and 24. The majority of unemployed males had been looking for a job for at least12 months.