This was not a result of more people losing their jobs, but of more people seeking for a job but not finding one immediately, CBS said in a release.
From November last year to January this year, an average of 3,000 people per month became unemployed and 15,000 people found a job. As a result, there were 9.8 million people in paid employment in January.
Apart from that, 3.6 million people aged 15 to 74 were not in paid employment.
In addition to the 386,000 unemployed, 3.2 million people were not actively seeking work or not immediately available for work.
Averaged over the past three months, the number of people outside the labour force has risen by 17,000 per month.
Unemployment increased across all age groups in January, but most among young people. Among those aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate was up from 8.7 to 8.9 per cent.
Youth unemployment has been increasing for some time, but is still relatively low compared to previous years. The percentage of young people in paid employment has also increased since 2021, but declined slightly for the first time in 2024.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)
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