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Island unemployment rate falls to 1%

Vacancies far outweigh job seekers

The Island's unemployment rate fell slightly last month, to 1%.

The 0.1% drop puts the number out of work in May at 440 - substantially fewer than the same month in 2016 (663).

Official figures show more people left the unemployment register last month than signed on - a net drop of 22.

It's a fifth successive monthly drop in the Island's jobless total.

At the same time, there's been an increase in vacancies notified to the Job Centre, where 1,039 empty posts are currently advertised.

Of the total unemployed, 291 are male and 149 female.

Sectors with the highest number of unfilled posts are catering and entertainment (114) and eGaming (65).

Those with jobs are seeking work in categories ranging from unskilled construction to retail distribution and business services.

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