Overview

• In January 2024, the number of employed persons continued in an upward trend, with a rise of 0.2 per cent (+25.3 thousand persons) from the previous month to record 16.48 million persons (December 2023: 16.46 million). During the month, the employment-to-population ratio, which denotes the ability of an economy to create employment, rose by 0.1 percentage points to 67.9 per cent (December 2023: 67.8%).
  

• By economic sector, the number of employed persons in the Services sector remained increasing, notably in Wholesale & retail trade; Food & beverage services; and Transportation & storage activities. A similar trend was also observed in the number of employed persons in the Manufacturing, Construction and Mining & quarrying sectors in January 2024. The number of employed persons in the Agriculture sector rebounded during the month compared to last month. 
  

• The majority of employed persons in January 2024 were in the employees' category, constituting 75.2 per cent. This category saw a marginal increase of 0.1 per cent (+14.2 thousand persons), totaling 12.39 million persons compared to 12.38 million in December 2023. On the same note, the own-account workers category continued its increasing trend during the month, rising by 0.3 per cent (+10.3 thousand persons) to 3.01 million persons (December 2023: 3.0 million persons).
  

• In January 2024, the number of unemployed persons decreased further, with a marginal drop of 0.1 per cent (-0.5 thousand persons) to 567.3 thousand persons (December 2023: 567.8 thousand persons). January’s unemployment rate remained at 3.3 per cent as recorded in the previous month.
  

• The labour force in January 2024 saw further enhancement, increasing by 0.1 per cent (+24.8 thousand persons) to 17.05 million persons compared to the previous month (December 2023: 17.03 million persons). The labour force participation rate (LFPR) during the month was unchanged at 70.2 per cent, as in the preceding month.
  

• The number persons of outside the labour force posted a marginal decline of 0.01 per cent to 7.23 million persons in January 2024 compared to the previous month (December 2023: 7.23 million persons). The major composition of those outside the labour force was housework/ family responsibilities, accounting for 42.5 per cent, while schooling/ training ranked second with 40.8 per cent.
  

The full publication of the Labour Force Report, January 2024 can be downloaded through eStatistik Portal

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