The registered unemployed increased by 5.5 per cent between August 2011 and last August, reaching 6,821, the National Statistics Office said.

The NSO said that according to Employment and Training Corporation records, the number of people registering as unemployed in Malta and Gozo stood at 6,139 and 682, respectively.

Accordingly, during the 12-month period to August, the number of registered unemployed went up by 352 on the mainland and by four in Gozo.

The number registering under Part 1 of the unemployment register increased by 411 (7.1 per cent), while those registering under Part 2 went down by 55 (-8 per cent).

When compared to last year, unemployment among men went up by 169, or 3.3 per cent, while female unemployment increased by 187, or 13.2 per cent.

Unemployment decreased among young persons, but increased among the older age groups.

In April, the registered unemployment rate stood at 4.3 per cent of the labour supply (excluding part-timers): 5.1 per cent for men and 2.8 per cent for women.

The unemployment rate for those registering under Part 1 stood at 4.7 per cent among those aged 45 and over, and five per cent for those under 25.

The unemployment rate of people who had been registering for work for at least one year under Part 1 of the unemployment register stood at 1.5 per cent: 1.9 per cent for men and 0.7 per cent for women.