Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate for March-May 2010 was 2.9%, down by 0.1 percentage point over the previous period (February-April 2010); the underemployment rate went up by 0.1 percentage point to 2.1%. Total labour force was 326,000 in March-May 2010 and the labour force participation rate stood at 71.5%, up by 0.4 percentage point from the previous period. The employed population increased by 2,400 over the previous period to 316,000, in which employment of Recreational, Cultural, Gaming & Other Services; Public Administration & Social Security; and the Transport, Storage & Communications Sector saw increase, while that of Retail Trade registered a decrease. Number of the unemployed held stable at 9,600, with 5.4% being fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job, up by 0.5 percentage point over the previous period. In comparison with March-May 2009, the labour force participation rate and the unemployment rate decreased by 1.1 and 0.6 percentage points respectively; however, the underemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage point.
