The number of people registering for employment in March stood at 1,013 - five people more than in the same month last year, the National Statistics Office said.

It said that according to data provided by JobsPlus, there was a year-on-year increase of 18 people registering under Part I of the employment register and a drop of 13 people registering under Part II.

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

Those registering under Part II are either workers who have been dismissed from work due to disciplinary actions, 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.

Decreases in the registered unemployment levels were recorded in the age groups 20-24 and 25-29, while all other age groups registered increases. Males accounted for 70% of total registrants while females accounted for the remaining 30%.

People who had been registering for work for less than 21 weeks and those who had been registering for 21 to 52 weeks increased when compared to the same month in 2022.

On the other hand, people registering for work for more than one year decreased when compared with the same month of the previous year.

The number of people with a disability who were registering for work decreased by 22 when compared to the previous year, reaching 234. Males accounted for 78.6% of total registrants with a disability.

The largest share of males and females on the unemployment register sought occupations as clerical support workers, with 21% and 39.8% respectively.