Unemployment in the 12 months to the end of last December fell by 1,074, the NSO said today.

The number of persons employed on a full-time basis increased by 2,499, or 1.7 per cent, to 146,946.
The labour supply increased by 1,425 to 153,552. This was the result of an increase of 2,499 full-time gainfully occupied persons and a decrease of 1,074 in the number of registered unemployed.

The NSO said the number of persons employed in construction and public administration fell by 3.3 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively.

In contrast, employment in health and social work, education and financial intermediation  increased by 294, 204 and 203 respectively.

Among the number of persons employed in the private sector, 21 per cent were engaged in wholesale and retail trade followed by an additional 19.7 per cent in the manufacturing industry.

Persons engaged with the public sector were mostly employed in public administration and defence, education and health-related activities.

DECEMBER FIGURES

During December 2010, full-time employment in the private sector went up by 2.6 per cent over the previous year whereas the number of persons engaged with the public sector dropped by 0.5 per cent. Employment among males and females rose between December 2009 and
 
When compared to December 2009, total part-time employment rose by 3,223, or 6.6 per cent. Of total part-timers, there were 1,868 persons whose part-time job was their primary occupation and a further 1,355 persons who had a part-time job in addition to their full-time employment.