31 May 2006


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Business Today



Labour supply drops in December

Labour market data for December 2005, provided by the Employment and Training
Corporation (ETC), indicate a drop of 379 persons in the labour supply over the same month in the preceding year.
This drop was the result of an increase of 345 persons in the gainfully occupied population and a decrease of 724 persons on the unemployment register.
In this way, the labour supply stood at 145,316 in December 2005. This was distributed as follows: the gainfully occupied population amounted to 137,937, whereas the registered unemployed amounted to 7,379.
The data on hand indicate that, as from December 2004 to December 2005, jobs within the private sector went up by 1,282 persons or 1.4 per cent. Accordingly, the private sector was found to be employing 92,820 persons on a full-time basis in December
2005.
Between December 2004 and Decenber 2005, the following economic activities within the production sector reported growth in full-time employment: manufacturing of chemicals and chemical products 46 persons and manufacturing of other non-metallic mineral products 43 persons. On the other hand, the main drop in terms of full-time employment over the same period occurred in the following economic activities: clothing manufacturing -376 persons; manufacturing of textiles -346 persons; manufacturing of footwear -110; manufacturing of rubber and plastic products -124.
On its part, the construction sector reported an increase of 450 persons in employment when compared to the same month in the preceding year.
When it comes to services activities within the private sector, from December 2004 to
December 2005, the following economic activities reported an increase in terms of fulltime employment: hotels and restaurants 192 persons; wholesale trade 213 persons; recreational, cultural, and sporting activities 142 persons. On the other hand, a decline in employment occurred in retail trade 154 persons.
For December 2005, the data on hand indicates that a drop of 214 apprentices / trainees occurred within the private sector over the preceding year.
In December 2005, the public sector had 937 persons less than what it had on its books
in the preceding year (-2.0 per cent). The main decline was registered in health -292; construction/public works -169; and, collection, purification and distribution of water -135. In contrast, employment in the education sector grew by 150.
All in all, the public sector was providing full-time employment for 45,117 persons in
December 2005.
Specific data on Gozo for December 2005, indicates that most people in Gozo are found to be employed in public administration, construction, education and health services.
With regard to part-time employment, the ETC figures for December 2005 indicate that the total number of persons with a part-time job went up by 3,887 over the same month in the preceding year. This global figure translates into 2,152 persons whose part-time job is their primary occupation and 1,735 persons whose part-time job is their secondary occupation. All in all, there were 41,076 persons who had a job in the peripheral labour market in December 2005.
In December 2005, people holding a part-time job in addition to their full-time employment mainly increased in hotels and restaurants 320 persons; education 160 persons; and, wholesale trade 134 persons.
When it comes to those people whose part-time job is their primary occupation, the main increases were in hotels and restaurants 442 persons; education 158 persons; health 132 persons; and, manufacturing of food products and beverages 80 persons.



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