In April 2016, 4,873,000 persons aged 15-74 were employed, not seasonally adjusted.
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This is an increase of 111,000 compared to April 2015, of whom 68,000 were women and 44,000 were men. The number of unemployed persons decreased by 51,000 and amounted to 381,000 persons. The unemployment rate decreased by 1.0 percentage point and was 7.3 percent.
The number of hours worked averaged 166.7 million per week. Smoothed and seasonally adjusted data shows an increase in employment and a decrease in the unemployment, which amounted to 6.9 percent.
Compared with the outcome of previous months, the data for April 2016 indicates a somewhat improved labour market with a larger increase in the number of employed persons as well as the number of hours worked and a larger decrease in the number of unemployed persons.
To conclude whether the positive development is persistent requires an additional measurement.
In April 2016 the number of employed persons aged 15-74 amounted to 4 873,000, not seasonally adjusted. This corresponds to an increase of 111 000 persons when compared to April 2015, of whom 68,000 were women and 44 000 were men.
The employment rate for the population aged 15-74 increased by 1.0 percentage points and amounted to 66.7 percent. Among women the employment rate increased by 1.4 percentage points and amounted to 64.6 percent and among men it was 68.7 percent.
Compared to previous months the smoothed and seasonally adjusted data shows a continued increase in the number of employed persons as well as in the employment rate. In April 2016 the number of employed persons amounted to 4,905,000 which corresponds to an employment rate of 67.1 percent.
In April 2016 the number of employees aged 15-74 increased by 80,000 and amounted to 4 376 000, not seasonally adjusted. The number of permanent employees amounted to 3,666,000 and increased by 54,000 persons compared with April 2015.
The number of temporary employees amounted to 711,000. Smoothed and seasonally adjusted data also shows a continued large increase in the number of permanent employees. Changes remain small for the number of temporary employees.
On average, the number of hours worked in April 2016 amounted to 166.7 million per week, not seasonally adjusted.
When differences in holidays are taken into account, this was an increase of 4.6 percent from April 2015. According to smoothed and seasonally adjusted data, the number of hours worked amounted to 148.7 million per week, which is an increase compared with previous months.
In April 2016 the number of unemployed persons aged 15-74 amounted to 381,000, not seasonally adjusted, a decrease of 51,000 persons compared with April 2015. The unemployment rate decreased by 1.0 percentage points and amounted to 7.3 percent.
Among women the unemployment rate decreased by 1.2 percentage points and amounted to 7.0 percent and among men the unemployment decreased by 0.9 percentage points to 7.5 percent. Among young persons aged 15-24 the number of unemployed persons was 137,000, of whom 97,000 were full time students. The unemployment rate was 21.7 percent.
Among people aged 15-74, smoothed and seasonally adjusted data shows a continued decrease in the number of unemployed and the unemployment rate compared with previous months.
The number of unemployed persons amounted to 366,000, corresponding to an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent. Among women the unemployment rate continues to decrease while the unemployment rate among men shows small changes. The number of unemployed young persons amounted to 123 000 which corresponds to an unemployment rate of 18.9 percent. ■