Labour Force Survey (LFS), December 2009:

The number of employed decreased by 67 000

In December 4 452 000 persons were employed, resulting in 67 000 fewer persons employed compared to December 2008. The number of unemployed increased by 108 000 persons, resulting in an unemployment rate of 8.6 percent. The number of hours worked amounted to 118.7 million a week on average.

No decrease in the number of temporarily employed

In December 2009 the number of employed persons aged 15–74 amounted to 4 452 000 of whom 2 342 000 were men and 2 109 000 women. The total number of employed thereby decreased by 67 000 persons, of whom 38 000 were women. The difference in the number of employed men is not statistically significant.

The employment rate dropped by 1.7 percentage points compared to December 2008, resulting in an employment rate of 63.7 percent. Among persons aged 15–24, the employment rate went down by 4.2 percentage points while among persons aged 25–54 it fell by 1.7 percentage points.

Like previous months, the number of employed dropped mainly in the manufacturing industry. The decrease amounted to 46 000 persons.

The number of employees decreased by 86 000 persons. Of those, 42 000 were men and 44 000 women. The decrease was among permanently employees. However, the number of temporarily employed persons did not show a statistically significant difference for the third month in row compared to the same month 2008.

Number of hours worked down 3.0 percent

On average, the number of hours worked in December amounted to 118.7 million a week. Adjusting for calendar differences between 2008 and 2009, this is a decrease of 3.0 percent.

8.6 percent unemployment rate

The number of unemployed was 417 000 in December. Compared to December 2008 this equals a decrease of 108 000 persons, of whom 60 percent were men. About one fourth of the unemployed consisted of full-time students looking for a job.

The unemployment rate equalled 8.6 percent of the labour force, a rise by 2.2 percentage points compared to December 2008. Among men the unemployment rate amounted to 8.9 percent of the labour force, and among women 8.1 percent.

The number of long-term unemployed, i.e. persons that have been unemployed for 26 weeks or more, rose by 52 000 persons compared to December of last year, leading to a total of 139 000 persons. Of these, 82 000 were men and 58 000 were women.