Statistics derived from the Continuous Household Labour Force Survey indicated that the rate of unemployment for 2015 stood at 11.3 per cent, compared with 12.3 per cent at the end of 2014.
The unemployment rate among males stood at 12.3 per cent and 10.3 per cent among females. In the review period, the number of persons employed totalled 128,200; of whom 63,900 were males and 64,300 were females.
The total number of unemployed persons stood at 16,400, that is, 9,000 males and 7,400 females. In total, the number of persons in the labour force stood at 144,600.
The number of persons not actively looking for work, hence excluded from the labour force, was 77,500 persons. The Labour Force participation rate stood at 65.1 per cent, with participation among males at 68.7 per cent and 61.7 per cent among females.
In 2015, the Wholesale and Retail Trade Sector generated jobs for the largest number of persons, employing 20,200 persons, while the Accommodation and Food Services Sector employed 15,800 persons.
The Construction, Mining and Quarrying Sector generated employment for 12,100 persons and the Manufacturing Sector generated employment for 9,800 persons.
Employment in the Public Administration and Defence Sector reached 9,600 persons, while the Education Sector and Administrative and Support Service Sector generated employment for 7,300 and 7,100 persons respectively.
The Other Groups Sector, which include the Information and Communications, Activities of Extraterritorial Organisations & Bodies, Real Estate & Arts, Entertainment and Recreation industries, employed 7,600 persons. Six thousand, eight hundred persons worked in the Human Health and Social Work Sector.
The Transportation and Storage Sector and the Finance and Insurance Sector generated employment for 6,300 and 5,500 persons respectively. Employment in the Activities of Households as Employers Sector stood at 5,100 persons. The employment generated in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services Sector stood at 4,500 persons.
During the review period, employment recorded in the Other Services Sector stood at 3,800 persons, while employment levels in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Sector stood at 3,700 persons. The Electric, Gas, Steam, Water and Air Conditioning Supply Sector generated jobs for 2,900 persons, while 200 persons were employed in the Not Stated Sector.