During the first quarter of 2012, 4 586 000 persons aged 15-74 were employed. This is an increase of 29 000 persons compared to the first quarter of 2011. The unemployment rate was 7.8 percent. The number of persons aged 15-74 who were sick during the first quarter of 2012 was 338 000, a decrease of 26 000 compared to the same period last year.
At the same time as this press release, the LFS is publishing a press release on The population outside the labour force.
The population
The population aged 15-74 amounted to 7 099 000 persons in the first quarter of 2012. Compared to the first quarter of 2011 this is an increase of 43 000 compared to the same quarter last year. Among people aged 65-74 the increase was 43 000.
Persons at work
The number of persons at work was 4 113 000 during the first quarter of 2012. Of those, 2 196 000 were men and 1 917 000 were women. This is an increase of 34 000 women compared to the same quarter last year. The proportion of persons at work is 57.9 percent of the population aged 15-74.
Employed
During the first quarter of 2012, 4 586 000 persons aged 15-74 were employed. This is an increase of 29 000 persons compared to the first quarter of 2011.
The number of foreign born employed increased by 27 000. This is the fifth quarter in a row where the number of foreign born employed have increased.
The employment rate, that is, the share of employed persons in the population, was 64.6 percent during the first quarter 2012. The employment rate for men was 66.8 percent, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points, while the employment rate for women was 62.4 percent, an increase of 0.6 percentage points.
Persons not at work
Persons at work include employed persons absent for the entire week, unemployed persons and persons not in the labour force. During the first quarter of 2012, 2 987 000 persons were included here, which is 42.1 percent of the population aged 15-74.
Employed persons absent for the entire week
During the first quarter 2012, 10.3 percent of employed persons, or 473 000 persons were absent from work for at least one week. Of employed women, 12.4 percent were absent from work for at least one week, while the corresponding figure among men was 8.4 percent.
Unemployed persons
During the first quarter of 2012, 391 000 persons were unemployed. Of unemployed persons, 214 000 were men and 177 000 were women.
Unemployment rate for young people aged 15-24 was 25 percent. Of these unemployed young people, 51.3 percent studied full-time.
The relative unemployment figure was 7.8 percent of the labour force. Compared to the first quarter 2011 the relative unemployment figures decreased by 2.3 percentage points for foreign born women.
During the first quarter of 2012, 117 000 persons or 32.6 percent of unemployed persons aged 15-74 had been on long-term unemployment, that is, had been unemployed for a consecutive period of more than 27 weeks. Among the long-term unemployed, 69 000 were men and 48 000 were women.
For this group of long-term unemployed persons, 66 300 or 56.7 percent were unemployed for more than 52 weeks.
Persons not in the labour force
During the first quarter of 2012, 2 123 000 persons aged 15-74, or 29.9 percent of the population was not in the labour force. That is to say, these persons were neither employed nor unemployed. Of these persons, 980 000 were men and 1 143 000 were women.
The number of persons aged 15-74 who were sick the first quarter of 2012 was 338 000, a decrease by 26 000 compared to the same period last year. This group amounts to 4.8 percent of the population.