There were 6,714 people registering for work in January a drop of 83, or 1.2 per cent, over the corresponding month last year.

The National Statistics Office said that according to records provided by the Employment and Training Corporation, the number of people registering as unemployed in January in Malta and Gozo stood at 5,999 and 715, respectively.

There were 5,213 men and 1,501 women registering for work in January. Unemployment among men went down by 153, or 2.9 per cent, while female unemployment edged up by 70, or 4.9 per cent.

Unemployment declined across all age groups with the exception of persons under 20 and those aged 45 and over.

When compared to January 2011, the number of people registering for work for more than one year decreased by 110 to 2,235 (4.7 per cent).

The largest share of unemployed men sought occupations in services, sales and crafts, whereas women mostly sought clerical job.

The registered unemployment rate for September 2011 stood at 4.2 per cent of the labour supply (excluding part-timers): 4.9 per cent for men and 2.7 per cent for women. This rate stood at 4.4 per cent among people aged 45 and over, and 5.1 per cent for the under 25.