Unemployment Falls To A Record Low; 4.5% In April 2023

  • STATIN has reported that the unemployment rate in April 2023 was 4.5%, 1.5 percentage points lower than in April 2022.
  • In April 2023, there were 1,373,800 persons in the Labour Force, which was 1.7% higher than in April 2022. Of this, 730,000 were males and 643,800 were females. Compared to April 2022, the male labour force increased by 0.6% and the female labour force by 3.0%. The participation rate for females (60.2%) increased by 1.7 percentage points compared to males (70.9%), which increased by 0.4 percentage points.
  • Of the 1,312,600 persons employed in April 2023, 705,200 were males and 607,400 females. There were 43,300 (3.4%) more employed persons than in April 2022 (1,269,300). There were 13,600 (2.0%) more males and 29,700 (5.1%) more females in the employed labour force.
  • Service Workers Shop and Market Sales Workers and ‘Elementary Occupations’ accounted for the largest increases in the employed workforce. There were 311,600 persons employed in ‘Service Workers and Shop and Market Sales Worker’ group in April 2023, 9.8% more when compared to April 2022. The number of employed persons in ‘Elementary Occupations’ was 173,100, an increase of 12,800 persons (8.0%) compared to April 2022.
  • There was a notable decline in the number of persons working as ‘Skilled Agricultural and Fishery Workers’. Despite the increase in employment across most industry groups, there was a downturn in the numbers employed mainly in ‘Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing’. In April 2023, 182,500 persons were working in the industry, a decline of 7,800 persons (4.1%).
  • In April 2023, there were 61,300 unemployed persons, 19,700 (24.3%) fewer persons compared to April 2022. The number of unemployed youths (persons aged 14 -24 years) was 24,600, a decrease of 6,800 (21.7%). The unemployment rate for April 2023 was 4.5%, 1.5 percentage points lower than the 6.0% in April 2022. The male unemployment rate was 3.4% and 5.7% for females; both declined when compared to 4.7% and 7.6%, respectively, in 2022.
  • The number of persons Outside the Labour Force was 725,700 in April 2023, a decrease of 20,700 (2.8%) compared to 746,400 in April 2022. There were 300,200 males and 425,500 females outside the labour force, a decline of 3,600 (1.2%) males and 17,100 (3.9%) females relative to April 2022.

(Source: STATIN)