Bahrain's official rate of unemployment has dropped to 3.6 per cent, down from 3.8 per cent in September, it was revealed on Sunday.

The October statistics show the number of jobless Bahrainis at 5,299 out of a national workforce of 145,000, a Cabinet meeting chaired by Deputy Premier Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa was told, according to a report in our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News.

The unemployed include 4,471 (84.3 per cent) women and 828 men (15.6 per cent), Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi said.

The number of jobseekers receiving unemployment aid under the National Insurance Scheme also dropped to 2,656 last month from 2,979 in September.

The updated lists have already been referred to the General Organisation for Social Insurance for payments.

Women make up 78 per cent of the beneficiaries at 2,079, compared to 577 men.

The October lists also show that 1,306 recipients are university graduates, while 1,350 do not hold academic qualifications.

A total of 690 eligible recipients for the unemployment aid have been incorporated in the approved lists, including 520 women.

According to the ministry's updated figures released on Sunday, 5,309 have been recruited to date, out of which 2,489 are women.

Meanwhile, 919 jobseekers have been removed from the beneficiaries lists, because they failed to meet conditions. Out of this, 777 are women.

Thirty-nine newly-registered jobseekers have also been disqualified. Dr Al Alawi said 97 had turned down more than two job offers.

At least 272 jobless failed to report to the ministry or recruitment centres or even attend career expos. Another 517 have been disqualified for exhausting their six-month grace period, including 457 women.

The number of unemployment aid recipients peaked last February, reaching 9,797. It dropped to 2,931 in July before rising slightly to 3,089 a month later. - TradeArabia News Service