Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate for February-April 2010 was 3.0% and the underemployment rate was 2.0%, up by 0.1 and 0.2 percentage point respectively over the previous period (January-March 2010). Total labour force was 323,300 in February-April 2010 and the labour force participation rate stood at 71.1%, both remained unchanged from the previous period. The employed population totalled 313,700 and the number of the unemployed was 9,600, of which 4.9% were fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job, down by 1.0 percentage point over the previous period. Analyzed by industry, employment of Real Estate & Business Activities saw increase from the previous period, while that of the Construction Sector and Hotels, Restaurants & Similar Activities registered a decrease. In comparison with February-April 2009, the labour force participation rate and the unemployment rate dropped by 1.5 and 0.8 percentage points respectively; meanwhile, the underemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage point.
