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2 NEWS 14.9.2023 LABOUR Force Survey estimates show that, during the second quarter of 2023, total employment stood at 294,313 accounting for 63.5 per cent of the population aged 15 and over. Unemployed persons stood at 7,579 (1.6 per cent) while inactive persons totalled 161,947 (34.9 per cent). The activity rate for the quarter un- der review was estimated at 80.9 per cent with the highest rate recorded among persons aged 25 to 54 (92.0 per cent). The employed population On average, out of every 100 per- sons aged between 15 and 64 years, 79 were employed. The male employment rate for this age bracket was 85.0 per cent while that for females stood at 71.7 per cent. The largest share of employed per- sons was recorded among persons aged between 25 and 34 years, for both males and females. Self-employed persons accounted for 14.8 per cent of all persons with a main job. The majority of employed per- sons worked on a full-time basis and amounted to 258,909. A further 35,404 had a part-time job as their primary employment. Results show that, on average, full-timers usually worked 40.7 hours while part-timers worked 22.0 hours per week. In the second quarter of 2023, em- ployed persons actually worked 35.2 hours per week, 0.8 hours more when compared to the same quarter of the previous year. The average monthly basic salary of employees for the second quarter of 2023 was estimated at €1,831. The highest basic salary was re- corded in the Financial and insurance activities sector. Average monthly salaries varied from €1,163 among persons employed in elementary oc- cupations to €2,994 among managers. The unemployed and inactive population The unemployment rate for the sec- ond quarter of 2023, stood at 2.5 per cent. The largest share of unemployed persons was recorded among persons aged 25 to 74 years. Females accounted for 58.7 per cent of total inactive persons and those over 65 years made up the highest share of the inactive population. The main reason for inactivity re- lates to persons reaching retirement age or taking up early retirement (43.5 per cent). Educational attainment More than 40 per cent of persons aged 15 years and over had attained a secondary level of education or less (41.8 per cent). By contrast, 34.9 per cent of the employed had a tertiary level education. Employment by age group and sex Employment topped 294,000 in Q2 Continuing Professional Development opportunities in environmental monitoring and assessment THE Institute of Earth Systems is offer- ing, for the first time, a series of Contin- uing Professional Development (CPD) units at Master level in the field of envi- ronmental monitoring and assessment. e new CPD units form part of the recently launched full-time M.Sc. in Environmental Monitoring and As- sessment, which will equip students with the knowledge and expertise they require in order to work in the field of environmental science. e course programme aims to pro- vide training in monitoring approaches, in handling environmental data and in assessing observed changes with a view to the safe and responsible use of envi- ronmental resources. e structure of the M.Sc. in Environ- mental Monitoring and Assessment al- lows interested individuals currently in fulltime employment to follow one or more study units as part a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) pro- gramme at their place of work. e content of the new CPD units is designed to keep people already work- ing in this field conversant with techno- logical advances and current thinking in environmental monitoring and as- sessment. In addition, students who successfully complete a sufficient number of units will be eligible for the award of a Post- graduate Certificate or Diploma. Online applications are currently open for the following study-units: • EMP5007 - Remote Sensing for Earth Observation, • EMP5026 - Environmental Im- pact Assessment • EMP5027 - Methods in Data Analysis and Quality Assurance, • EMP5028 - Environmental Noise Monitoring and Assessment, • EMP5029 - Soil and Land Mon- itoring: Pollution and Remedia- tion, and • EMP5030 - Air Quality Monitor- ing and Assessment. e application deadline is 29 Septem- ber 2023, and interested applicants are invited to consult the course informa- tion page for details about how to apply for these CPD study-units. The new CPD units form part of the recently launched full-time M.Sc. in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, which will equip students with the knowledge and expertise they require in order to work in the field of environmental science

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