Statistics derived from the Continuous Household Labour Force Survey indicated that the rate of unemployment for 2014 stood at 12.3 per cent.

The unemployment rate among males stood at 11.8 per cent and 12.8 per cent among females.??In the review period, the number of persons employed totalled 124,800; of whom 63,500 were males and 61,300 were females.

The total number of unemployed persons stood at 17,500, that is, 8,500 males and 9,000 females. In total, the number of persons in the labour force stood at 142,300.

The number of persons not actively looking for work, hence excluded from the labour force, was 80,400 persons. The Labour Force participation rate stood at 63.9 per cent, with participation among males at 67.7 per cent and 60.4 per cent among females.

In 2014, the Wholesale and Retail Trade Sector generated jobs for the largest number of persons, employing 21,200 persons, while the Accommodation and Food Services Sector employed 15,400 persons.

The Construction, Mining and Quarrying Sector generated employment for 12,000 persons and the Manufacturing Sector generated employment for 9,500 persons.

Employment in the Public Administration and Defence Sector reached 8,700 persons, while the Administrative and Support Service Sector and the Education Sector each generated employment for 7,200 persons.

The Other Groups Sector, which include the Information and Communications, Activities of Extraterritorial Organisations & Bodies, Real Estate & Arts, Entertainment and Recreation industries, employed 7,000 persons; while 6,600 worked in the Human Health and Social Work Sector.

The Transportation and Storage Sector and the Finance and Insurance Sector each generated employment for 5,700 persons. Employment in the Activities of Households as Employers Sector stood at 5,000 persons. The employment generated in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services Sector was 4,200 persons.

During the review period, employment recorded in the Other Services Sector stood at 3,500 persons, while employment levels in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Sector stood at 3,400 persons. The Electric, Gas, Steam, Water and Air Conditioning Supply Sector generated jobs for 2,400 persons.

Author: Economic Affairs Division/BGIS

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