ANOFM: Unemployment rate drops to 3.48 pct in May 2018

The unemployment rate has maintained its declining trend and reached 3.48 percent in May 2018, down 0.10 percentage points as compared to the previous month (3.58 percent in April) and below the value registered at the end of the same month of 2017 by 0.72 percentage points, according to data released on Monday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). 

The overall number of unemployed end-May 2018, stood at 303,964 people, dropped by 9,061 people as compared to the number at the end of the previous month. Of the overall number of unemployed people registered with the local employment agencies, 53,148 collected unemployment benefit whereas 250,816 didn't collect any. 

Compared to the previous month, the male unemployment rate declined from 3.78 percent to 3.65 percent in April 2018, while the female unemployment rate dropped from 3.35 percent in April 2018 to 3.27 percent. 

By residence, there were 86,006 jobless people in urban areas and 217,958 in rural areas. 

Most unemployed people ranged in the 40 - 49 age bracket (91,251), followed by the 30 - 39 age group (61,003), at the opposite end being people ranged in the 25 - 29 age bracket (19,008). 

By education level, the jobless with no studies or with just primary education accounted for the highest share of the total number of ANOFM-registered unemployed (36.65 percent). The unemployed with completed secondary school accounted for 32.44 percent of the total and those with university studies represented 4.76 percent.