Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate for September-November 2011 was 2.3%, down by 0.1 percentage point over the previous period (August-October 2011); the underemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage point to 1.1%. Total labour force was 345,000 in September-November 2011 and the labour force participation rate stood at 72.5%, with total employment decreasing by about 1,800 over the previous period to 336,000. Analyzed by industry, employment of the Construction Sector saw increase, while that of Recreational, Cultural, Gaming & Other Services and Real Estate & Business Activities registered decrease. Number of the unemployed decreased by about 300 from the previous period to 8,100, with 15.3% being fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job, down by 1.1 percentage points over the previous period. In comparison with September-November 2010, the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate decreased by 0.5 and 0.6 percentage point respectively; meanwhile, the labour force participation rate increased by 1.3 percentage points.
