The number of persons registering for employment in August stood at 1,645, decreasing by 7.9% when compared to the same month in 2018.

The National Statistics Office said that data provided by Jobsplus for August indicated a decline of 150 persons registering under Part 1 of the employment register and an increase of eight among those registering under Part II.

Those registering under Part 1 are either new job seekers who have left school, reentrants into the labour market or individuals who have been made redundant by their former employers.

Those registering under Part 2 are either workers who have been dismissed from work due to disciplinary action, left work out of their own free will, refused work or training opportunities or were struck off the register after an inspection by law enforcement personnel.

The NSO said that registered unemployed dropped among all age groups, with the exception of those aged between 30 and 44 years.

Registrants for work with a duration of under 21 weeks and over one year decreased when compared to August 2018. The largest decrease was recorded among persons who had been registering for more than one year.

There was an increase in the number of those who have been registering for work for between 21 and 52 weeks

The number of persons with a disability who were registering for work decreased by 17 when compared to the previous year, reaching 227. Males accounted for 70.5% of total registrants with a disability.

The largest share of males (18.6%) and females (38.4%) on the unemployment register sought occupations as clerical support workers.