The Buzz | Unemployment holds stable

The unemployment rate (1.9 percent) and the underemployment rate (0.5 percent) for the period February-April 2016 remained stable, as was the case for January-March 2016, according to information from the Statistics and Census Service.
The total labor force amounted to 397,300 and the labor force participation rate stood at 72.2 percent. Total employment increased by 600 from the previous three-month period (January-
March 2016) at 389,600.
Analyzed by industry, employment in ‘Gaming and Junket Activities’, and ‘Real Estate and Business Activities’ registered increases, while that in ‘Hotels and Similar Activities’ saw a decrease.
The number of unemployed individuals stood at 7,700, similar to that in the previous period, while entrants into the labor force searching for their first job accounted for 5 percent of the total unemployed, down by 1.3 percentage points.