Registered unemployed drops 2.6% in Jan-Apr

 

The number of registered unemployed reached 11,419 in April 2006, compared with 12,986 people in March 2007. The Statistical Service reported that the decrease was mainly recorded in the sectors of hotels and restaurants, transport and trade.

For the first four months as a whole, unemployment fell by 2.6% compared with the same four months of 2006 to 13,566.

The Statistical Service no longer reports an unemployment rate based on registered figures, but based on past figures the registered unemployment rate was probably around 3-3.5% in the first four months of the year, compared with a Labour Force Survey figure of 4.2% in the fourth quarter of 2006.