The number of employed persons reached 323,207 in the third quarter of this year, up five per cent over a year earlier.
The National Statistics Office said the figure, according to labour force survey estimates, represented 65.5% of the population aged 15 and over.
The unemployed amounted to 10,221 (2.1%) in the period under review and inactive persons totalled 159,797 (32.4 %). The activity rate for the quarter under review was estimated at 82.9% with the highest rate recorded among those aged 25 to 54 (91.8%).