Employment statistics show rise

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During the third quarter, turnover and employment indices in the services sector fell by 4.9 and 4.0 per cent respectively when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2008, but increased by 6.7 and 0.2 per cent when compared to the previous quarter of 2009, the National Statistics Office reported yesterday.

Turnover

The period under review saw turnover decreasing by 4.9 per cent when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2008. These declines ranged from 2.5 per cent in Information and Communication services to 11.6 per cent in respect of Professional, Scientific and Technical activities.

On the other hand, the third quarter of 2009 registered a 6.7 per cent gain over the previous quarter. Gains in turnover were registered in Transportation and Storage (+16.8 per cent), Accommodation and Food Service Activities (+12.4 per cent) and Administrative and Support Service Activities (+12.0 per cent). Information and Communication Activities registered an increase of 2.0 per cent, whereas Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities declined by 8.7 per cent.


Employment

During the third quarter of 2009, employment in services dropped by 4.0 per cent when compared to the third quarter of 2008. This decline was mainly due to lower employment in Accommodation and Food Service Activities (-8.4 per cent), Professional, Scientific and Technical activities (-4.4 per cent), and Administrative and Support Service Activities (-9.3 per cent). On the other hand, an increase in employment was registered in Transportation and Storage and Information and Communication, by 1.5 and 7.1 per cent respectively.

When comparing successive quarters, the services employment index registered a 0.2 per cent rise over the previous quarter. This was mainly due to increases of 3.4 and 0.9 per cent in Accommodation and Food Service Activities and Information and Communication respectively.

These gains were partly offset by declines in employment in Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities and Administrative and Support Service Activities of 1.8 and 7.8 per cent respectively.

Wages and salaries and hours worked

Year on year, wages and salaries in the services sector rose by 2.2 per cent whereas hours worked declined by 2.3 per cent. When compared to the second quarter of 2009, wages and salaries rose marginally by 0.6 per cent, while the number of hours worked increased by 2.5 per cent.