Jobs in December up, construction employment falls

Data provided by the Employment and Training Corporation indicates a year-on-year increase of 4,574 in the total labour supply. This was attributed to an increase of 3,940 in the number of full-time jobs and an increase of 634 in the number of registered unemployed.

Year-on-year increases in full-time employment were mostly recorded in the education sector (+959 jobs) and in Administrative and Support Services activities (+940 jobs). In contrast, full-time employment in construction dropped by 424 jobs when compared to the corresponding month in 2012.

Full-time employment within the private sector increased by 2.5 per cent to 115,556, with main increases recorded in Administrative and Support Services (+12.4 per cent) and Professional, Scientific and Technical activities ( +6.0 per cent).

On the other hand, public sector employment went up by 2.8 per cent when compared to 2012. The highest increases in public sector employment were reported in Education activities (+713 jobs).

During the month under review, the number of jobs held by employees increased by 2.8 per cent when compared to July 2012. During the same period, the number of self-employed increased by 1.0 per cent to 18,082. Jobs held by females rose by 2,908 when compared to the corresponding month last year, to 55,994.

Part-Time Employment

 Registered part-time employment also went up by 4.3 per cent, or 2,427 jobs, when compared to last year's levels. The economic activity which contributed mostly to this increase was Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (+520 jobs). On the other hand, the number of part-time jobs in Arts, entertainment and recreation went down by 179.

In July 2013, the number of part-timers who also held a full-time job amounted to 24,429. The highest share of part-timers who fell under this category were males. Nevertheless, an increase of 601 (8.1 per cent) was recorded among females. During the same period, persons who held a part-time job as their primary occupation went up by 1,473 (4.5 per cent), with the highest increase being recorded among females 846 (+4.4 per cent)