The number of people in employment in the first quarter of the year stood at 274,493, 4.3% more than the same period a year ago, according to the National Statistics Office.

During the first quarter, the number of people in employment accounted for 61.2% of the population aged 15 years and over.

Unemployed persons stood at 9,090 (2%) while inactive persons totalled 164,677 (36.7%). The activity rate for the quarter under review was estimated at 78.7% with the highest rate recorded among persons aged 25 to 54 years (90.1%). 

The employed population 

On average, out of every 100 persons aged between 15 and 64 years, 76 were employed. The male employment rate for this age bracket was 81.8% while that for females stood at 69.6%. The largest share of employed persons was recorded among persons aged between 25 and 34 years, for both males and females.

Self-employed persons accounted for 15% of all persons with a main job. The majority of employed persons worked on a full-time basis and amounted to 241,349.

A further 33,144 had a part-time job as their primary employment. Results show that, on average, full-timers usually worked 40.6 hours while part-timers worked 21.8 hours per week.

In the first quarter of 2022, employed persons worked 35.1 hours per week, 1.4 hours more compared to the previous year. 

The average monthly basic salary of employees for the first quarter of 2022 was estimated at €1,706. 

The highest basic salary was recorded in the financial and insurance activities sector. 

The unemployed and inactive population 

The unemployment rate for the first quarter of 2022, stood at 3.2%. The largest share of unemployed persons was recorded among persons aged 25 to 74 years. Females accounted for 58.4% of total inactive persons and those over 65 years made up the highest share of the inactive.

Over 40% were inactive because they had reached retirement age or were taking up early retirement. 

Almost 45% of persons aged 15 years and over had attained a low level of education. In contrast, 34.2% of the employed had a tertiary level of education.