Unemployment rises slightly in July as vacancies edge up

Small rise in jobless numbers offset by growth in vacancies

The number of people registered unemployed on the Isle of Man rose slightly in July, while the number of job vacancies also increased, according to the latest government figures.

Statistics Isle of Man reports that 292 individuals were registered unemployed at the end of July, up by nine compared with June, and 45 more than the same month last year, equating to an unemployment rate of 0.7 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage points from June.

Of those registered, 195 were men (67 percent) and 97 were women (33 percent). 11 were under the age of 18, while 27 people had been unemployed for more than a year.

Using the International Labour Organisation (ILO) measure, which includes those seeking work but not formally registered, it is estimated that 737 people were unemployed in July – an unemployment rate of 1.6 percent.

At the same time, the number of vacancies recorded at the Job Centre rose to 502, up by 15 compared with the previous month. Of those, 292 were full-time roles and 210 were part-time. Around one in 10 of the full-time positions and one in six of the part-time roles were seasonal, temporary, or fixed-term.

Medical and health services accounted for the largest share of open positions, with 108 vacancies, followed by other business services (68), catering and entertainment (51), and retail distribution (55).

Sectors with the highest numbers of unemployed included retail distribution (32), catering and entertainment (33), and miscellaneous services (41).

Regionally, unemployment was most concentrated in the east of the Island, where 197 people were without work, compared with 40 in the north, 38 in the south, and 17 in the west.

The report also shows that unemployment has fluctuated in recent years.

July’s total of 292 remains significantly lower than figures recorded a decade ago, when more than 1,000 people were out of work, but is higher than the lows seen in 2018 and 2019 when claimant counts often dipped below 350.