Public sector full-time employment increased by almost 500 jobs over the electoral campaign between April and June 2017, a sharp contrast to the previous year when government jobs actually went down by 110 over the same period.

Figures released on Thursday by the National Statistics Office reflecting actual JobsPlus figures are the first ones casting lights on recruitment trends over the election period.

However, the increase in the public sector stretches long before the electoral campaign. The spiralling economy created 5.5% more jobs overall between June 2016 and June 2017, with 8,634 in the private sector, and 1,367 persons in the public sector.

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