The number of persons in the labour force in December 2012 was 180,500 which corresponds to an activity rate of 80%. The number of employed persons was 170,300 and unemployed persons were 10,100. The employment rate was 75.5% and the unemployment rate was 5.6%. The unemployment rate has decreased by 0.3 percentage points from December 2011 when it was 5.9%. In December 2012 the male unemployment rate was 6.2% compared to 6.7% in December 2011 and the female unemployment rate was 5% compared to 5.1% in December 2011.
Flowchart. Labour force December 2012
Figures may not add up because of rounding.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment 5.7%
The seasonally adjusted data shows that in December 2012 unemployed persons aged 16-74 amounted to 10,300 or 5.7% compared to 7,800 in November 2012 or 4.5%. The number of seasonally adjusted employed persons in December was 171,200 or 75.9% compared to 168.300 or 75.9% in November. The reason why employment rate is the same between the two months, even though the number of those in employment increased, is because of overall increase of the labour force. The seasonally adjusted trend data shows that for the last six months unemployment has decreased by 10.2% and the rate by 0.5 points. For the last twelve months unemployment has decreased by 15.8% and the rate by 1 point. The twelve month trend for employed shows an increase in number of employed by 1.5%.
Implementation
December 2012 is divided in to four weeks, from the 3rd to 30th of December. The total sample size for December 2012 was 1,201 persons, 16 to 74 years randomly chosen from the Population Register. When those who had passed away or those who were living abroad had been deducted from the sample the net sample was 1,181 persons. In total the number of usable answers was 934 which correspond to 79.1% response rate. All figures have been weighted by sex and age groups. The confidence limit of the results on activity rate is ±2.6%, employment rate is ±2.8% and unemployment rate is ±1.7%. Figures may not add up because of rounding.
| Table 1. Labour market in December - Orginal | ||||||
| 2010 | CI (± 95%) | 2011 | CI (± 95%) | 2012 | CI (± 95%) | |
| Total 16-74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 80.4 | 2.2 | 79.2 | 2.2 | 80.0 | 2.6 |
| Employment rate | 73.7 | 2.5 | 74.5 | 2.4 | 75.5 | 2.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 8.2 | 1.7 | 5.9 | 1.4 | 5.6 | 1.7 |
| Hours of work | 36.3 | 1.1 | 37.2 | 1.1 | 37.6 | 1.4 |
| Labour force | 179,700 | 5,000 | 177,300 | 5,000 | 180,500 | 5,800 |
| Employed | 164,900 | 5,500 | 166,900 | 5,300 | 170,300 | 6,200 |
| Unemployed | 14,800 | 3,100 | 10,500 | 2,600 | 10,100 | 3,000 |
| Inactive | 43,900 | 5,000 | 46,700 | 5,000 | 45,000 | 5,800 |
| Est. population | 223,700 | • | 224,000 | • | 225,500 | • |
| Table 2. Labour market last 6 months - Seasonal adjustment | ||||||
| Jul-12 | Aug-12 | Sep-12 | Oct-12 | Nov-12 | Dec-12 | |
| Total 16-74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 81.0 | 79.1 | 81.1 | 79.8 | 79.4 | 80.5 |
| Employment rate | 76.6 | 74.2 | 76.7 | 75.9 | 75.9 | 75.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.4 | 6.3 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 5.7 |
| Hours of work | 40.3 | 39.3 | 39.2 | 39.5 | 39.4 | 40.3 |
| Labour force | 181,400 | 174,200 | 182,900 | 178,800 | 176,200 | 181,500 |
| Employed | 171,700 | 163,300 | 173,100 | 170,100 | 168,300 | 171,200 |
| Unemployed | 9,700 | 10,900 | 9,800 | 8,700 | 7,800 | 10,300 |
| Inactive | 42,700 | 45,900 | 42,800 | 45,200 | 45,700 | 44,000 |
| Est. population | 224,100 | 220,100 | 225,700 | 224,000 | 221,900 | 225,500 |
| Table 3. Labour market last 6 months - Seasonal adjustment trend | ||||||
| Jul-12 | Aug-12 | Sep-12 | Oct-12 | Nov-12 | Dec-12 | |
| Total 16-74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 80.8 | 80.4 | 80.2 | 80.0 | 79.9 | 79.9 |
| Employment rate | 76.1 | 75.9 | 75.7 | 75.6 | 75.6 | 75.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.8 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.4 |
| Hours of work | 39.8 | 39.6 | 39.5 | 39.5 | 39.7 | 39.8 |
| Labour force | 180,400 | 179,600 | 179,300 | 179,200 | 179,200 | 179,300 |
| Employed | 169,900 | 169,400 | 169,300 | 169,500 | 169,500 | 169,600 |
| Unemployed | 10,500 | 10,200 | 10,000 | 9,700 | 9,700 | 9,700 |
| Inactive | 42,900 | 43,700 | 44,400 | 44,800 | 45,100 | 45,100 |
| Est. population | 223,300 | 223,300 | 223,700 | 224,100 | 224,300 | 224,400 |