Unemployment at 6,190 in February 2015 - NSO

An NSO report has revealed that data provided by the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) for February indicate a decrease of 1,514 persons registering under Part I and a decline of 49 among those registering under Part II of the unemployment register, compared to the corresponding month last year.

Overall, decreases in registered unemployment were recorded among all age-groups.

Compared to February last year, persons registering for work decreased, irrespective of how long they had been registering.

According to the report the highest change was recorded among those who had been registering for employment between 21 and 52 weeks.

Statistics show that the number of persons with a disability who were registering for work also decreased by 112 to 423. Males accounted for 81.6% of the total number of registrants with a disability.

According to NSO, the largest share of men on the unemployment register sought occupations as crafts and related trade workers with 17.3%, whereas their female counterparts mostly sought occupations as clerks and support workers with 24.9%.

The report shows that the registered unemployed rate in October stood at 3.8% of the labour supply, (excluding part-time employment and varied from 4.5% among men to 2.6% among women.

"NSO figures show reforms are having a positive effect on society"- Government

In a statement issued by the government, it is pointed out that when the previous administration came to power in 2008, the number of registered unemployed was at 6,342.

“Despite the boasting at the end of that legislature, this number had risen by 937 (15%) to 7,279. Every two days presented a new person registering as unemployed during that legislature,” the statement reads.

The statement points out the contrast between these figures and freshly published NSO statistics for February 2015, that show that 6,190 people were registered unemployed.

“In its first two years, this government had ensured a drop of 1,089 or 15% from the previous legislation. Thanks to responsible policies and positive reforms, the rise in unemployment garnered over five years under the previous administration, has been solved,” the statement says.

The government claimed that these figures are a confirmation that its economic policies are having a positive effect on society.

“Some 1,100 people are now employed and they are therefore contributing to economic growth rather than depending on social benefits.”

 The statement points out that the drop in unemployment was being felt most strongly among young people.

“Throughout these past twelve months, there was a drop of 470, over a third, of unemployed young people. This shows the effectiveness of the government’s efforts to ensure more young people enter the workforce,” the statement reads, pointing out the creation of a youth guarantee as a contributor in this regard.

The statement also refers to the 420 person drop in the over 45 category. According to the government, this category encompasses those who feel the most excluded from the job market and it presents a 13% drop from last year’s figures.

“Other categories considered at most social risk also showed strong signs of improvement including those that have been registered unemployed for over a year, where there was a 16% drop (520 people) and those who suffer some form of disability, where the rate dropped by 21% or 112 people,” the statement shows.

 The government also claimed that these two years saw more jobs created than there were during the previous legislation.

“Our country has further potential to generate more jobs and further reduce unemployment. This is why the government has remained committed to providing more economic growth through measures like cheaper utility bills, dropping fuel prices and securing more EU funds.”