Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate for June-August 2011 was 2.6% and the underemployment rate was 0.9%, down by 0.1 and 0.2 percentage point respectively over the previous period (May-July 2011). Total labour force was 344,000 in June-August 2011 and the labour force participation rate stood at 72.7%, up by 0.9 percentage point from the previous period. The employed population increased by about 3,700 over the previous period to 335,000. Analyzed by industry, employment of the Wholesale & Retail Trade and Recreational, Cultural, Gaming & Other Services saw increase, while that of Real Estate & Business Activities registered decrease. Number of the unemployed held stable at 9,000, with 15.3% being fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job, up by 3.0 percentage points over the previous period. In comparison with June-August 2010, the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate dropped by 0.3 and 0.6 percentage point respectively; meanwhile, the labour force participation rate rose by 1.3 percentage points.
