The number of people registered as unemployed in the Isle of Man has dropped by 249 people in a year.

Statistics released by the Isle of Man Government show that the figure for April 2017 was 462, down from 711 a year earlier.

The figure was also down from March 2017 by 45 people.

But those numbers don’t tell the whole story. The estimate based on International Labour Organisation measures is that there are actually 907 people unemployed and looking for work, compared with 952 in March 2017.

Many people who are looking for work are not registered with the government.

Under the ILO figure, the unemployment rate is 2 per cent.

There has been an increase in the number of vacancies notified to the Job Centre.

During April there were 1.017 and at the end of the month 734 remained. Of those 475 were full time while 259 were part time.

Two factors have inevitably affected the figures. They are demographic situation as baby boomers retire and the fact that the population of the Isle of Man has fallen.

The sectors in which there were most vacancies were information and communication technology, health, education and catering/entertainment.

The statistics show an improvement in the employment situation in the Isle of Man over time. In April 2014 almost 1,100 were registered unemployed.

The number of jobs notified to the Job Centre in April 2017 was almost 200 more than that in April 2014.