The unemployed declined to 4,615 last December from 6,287 in the same month the previous year, new figures issued today show.
Data provided by the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) shows a decrease of 1,688 persons registering under Part I of the unemployment register and an increase of 16 among those registering under Part II of the unemployment register, when compared to December 2014. Overall, decreases in registered unemployment were recorded among all age groups.
When compared to December 2014, those registering for work decreased irrespective of how long they had been registering. The largest decrease was recorded among persons who had been registering for over one year. The number of persons with a disability who were registering for work also decreased by 44, reaching 398.
Men accounted for 79.6 per cent of total unemployed with a disability.
The largest share of men on the unemployment register sought occupations as crafts and related trade workers (17.8 per cent), whereas women mostly sought occupations as clerical support workers (28.7 per cent).
The registered unemployment rate in July 2015 stood at 2.9 per cent of the labour supply, (excluding part-time employment), and varied from 3.3 per cent among men to 2.0 per cent among women.