The number of people out of work in the Isle of Man has dropped again.
Figures released by the Manx government show that in July there were 620 people on the register.
That’s down 16 from June and a drop of 170 from July 2015.
There were 405 unemployed men and 215 women.
The figure is the lowest since October 2008, a month after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the banking crisis sparked the global financial turmoil.
Twenty years ago, in July 1996, there were 1,260 on the register.
There were 812 job vacancies notified to the Job Centre during July this year and, at the end of the month, there were still 524 jobs waiting to be filled.
The unemployment register does not just include those getting benefits. It includes claimants who are signing on just for credits. There were 27 of those.
But people under 18 who are registered with the DED but not claiming benefit are not included. There were 34 of those.
The unemployment rate is 1.4 per cent in the Isle of Man.
That compares with 4.9 per cent in the UK (the March to May official statistic), 4.5 per cent in Germany, 7.8 per cent in the Republic of Ireland and 24.1 per cent in Greece.
Some on social media have suggested that the Isle of Man’s figure is lower because a number of people have left the island.
Finding hard evidence to back that assertion is difficult, although an interim census was carried out in the spring and the island awaits its outcome.
In the health and medical sector, there were 47 vacancies but only 15 people with medical qualifications out of work.
In contrast, in the construction sector there were 13 vacancies but 56 people with a background in the industry looking for work.