Registered unemployment in January increased by 525 when compared to the corresponding month last year, the National Statistics Office said.

The NSO said in a statement that the registered unemployed in January in Malta amounted to 6,220, whereas in Gozo they numbered 768.

In the 12 months to January , both Malta and Gozo experienced an increase in unemployment, by 496 in Malta and 29 in Gozo.

As for people registering for employment in the 12 months to January , the number of men increased by 519, whereas the number of women increased by six. In the same period, the number of people registering for work increased across all the age groups.

Between January last year and last January, those people who have been registering for work for under 20 weeks increased by 2,97.

Among men, the most common occupations sought were related to elementary work, plant and machine operation and crafts and related trades, whereas women tended to seek jobs which were clerical or service-oriented.

The registered unemployment rate in September stood at four percent of the labour supply. On a gender basis, the unemployment rate for men stood at 4.6 percent, while the unemployment rate for women stood at 2.8 percent.

The long-term unemployment rate, referring to people who have been registering for employment for more than 12months, stood at 1.4 percent.

The unemployment rate among workers aged 45 and over was 3.9 percent while the unemployment rate among people under 25 stood at 4.2 percent.