According to the Statistical Service, the labour force in Q2 amounted to 466,525 persons or 63.9% of the population (men 70.4%, women 57.9%) compared to 448,466 persons (62.2%) in the same quarter of 2020.

The number of employed was 427,300 and the employment rate 58.5% (men 65.1%, women 52.4%) from 418,015 (58.0%) last year.

For the age group 20-64, the employment rate was 75.2%.

The rate for males was 81.9% and for females 69.0%.

In Q2 2020, the rate was 75.2% (males 81.1%, females 69.6%).

For the age group 55-64, the employment rate was 62.2% from 61.0% in Q2 2020.

The largest employer was in Services (78.5%), followed by Manufacturing (18.6%) and Agriculture (2.9%).

For Q2 2020, the percentages were: Services 77.1%, Manufacturing 20% and Agriculture 2.9%.

The share of part-time employment to total employment was 11.4% or 48,505 (men 10.1%, women 12.8%).

Some 88.1% or 376,440 of the total employed worked for someone, of which 13.1% (49,461) had a temporary job.

In Q2 2020, employees accounted for 86.6% of total employment, of which 13.8% had a temporary job.

Unemployment

For young people aged 15-24, the unemployment rate was 17% of the labour force (males 14.8%, females 19.3%) compared to 17.8% (males 21.8%, females 14.1%) in Q2c 2020.

Some 40.5% of the unemployed searched for a job for less than six months, 24.0% for 6-11 months, whereas 35.5% were long-term unemployed.

The corresponding rates for Q2 2020 were 57.6%, 15.3% and 27.1%.

Source: Financial Mirror