Labour Force Survey estimates indicate that, during the second quarter, total employment stood at 231,152 accounting to more than half the population aged 15 and over. Unemployed persons stood at 9,159 (2.2 per cent) while inactive persons totalled 167,148 (41.0 per cent). The activity rate for the quarter under review was estimated at 73.5 per cent, with the highest rate recorded among persons aged 25-54 (85.4 per cent).
The Employed Population
On average, out of every 100 persons aged between 15 to 64 years, 71 were employed . The male employment rate for this age bracket was 80.3 per cent while that for females stood at 60.2 per cent. The largest share of employed persons was recorded among persons aged between 25 and 34 years, for both males and females.
Self-employed persons accounted for 14.3 per cent of all persons with a main job. The majority of employed persons worked on a full-time basis totalling 198,941 and 32,211 had a part-time job as their primary employment. Results show that, on average, full-timers work 41.7 hours while part-timers work 23.0 hours per week.
The average annual basic salary of employees for the second quarter of 2018 was estimated at €18,945. The highest basic salary was recorded in the Financial and insurance activities sector. Average annual salaries varied from €33,786 among managers to €12,106 among persons employed in elementary occupations.
The Unemployed and Inactive Population
The unemployment rate for the second quarter of 2018, stood at 3.8 per cent. The largest share of unemployed persons was recorded among persons aged 25 and over . Among the unemployed, 75.4 per cent stated that they had been seeking work for less than 12 months. The main reason for inactivity relates to persons reaching retirement age or taking up early retirement (40.6 per cent) .
Education Attainment
According to the Labour Force Survey, 52.6 per cent of the 15 plus population have attained a low level of education. This comprises persons with less than 5 ordinary level or equivalent qualifications. Among the employed population 30.9 per cent had a tertiary level education.
