December 2012 sees increase in employment

In December 2012, the number of persons working on a full-time basis increased by 1.7 % when compared to the corresponding month in 2011. Administrative data provided by the Employment and Training Corporation to the National Office of Statistics  shows that over a one-year period, the labour supply increased by 2,731 persons, reaching 159,775. This was attributed to an increase of 2,507 full-time employed persons and an increase of 224 registered unemployed persons when compared to 2011. During the month under review, private sector employment amounted to 73.2 % of the total full-time employed population. Year-on-year, full-time employment in the private sector rose by 2.4 %.  In December 2012, public sector employment amounted to 41,005, a decrease of 0.3% over the previous year.