The public administration and defence, compulsory social security and administrative and support services activities sector was not the main contributor towards the overall increase in employment, as the increase in this sector was primarily driven by a reclassification of workers previously recorded in the construction sector, the National Statistics Office said in a statement today.

The NSO referred to a statement on the gainfully occupied population it had issued on September 11 and said that its comment that this sector had contributed mostly to the increase in employment was not correct.

Its statement follows a recent debate in the media between the government and the opposition on which sectors in the economy contributed to the largest increases in employment.

The NSO’s explanation in full can be read in the pdf link below.