Bermudian men have been steadily losing ground in the job market for the last four years, according to a Labour Market Indicators report issued yesterday.

While 1,488 jobs were added to the Bermuda economy between 2004 and 2007, 90 percent (1,343) of those new jobs went to non-Bermudians, the report issued by the Department of Statistics showed. Meanwhile Bermudians lost 171 jobs overall during the same time period — with the number of Bermudians among all job holders falling from 27,443 to 27,272.

But when those job numbers were divided by gender, the data showed that there were 326 fewer jobs held by Bermudian men, while jobs for Bermudian women grew by 155.

Bermudian men held 13,116 jobs in 2004, that number fell to 12,918 in 2005 (down 198), rose slightly to 12,932 in 2006 (14), only to fall by another 142 jobs by 2007 to 12,790.

Looking at income, Bermudian women are the lowest paid segment in the survey, followed by Bermudian men.

The report included all Island job holders and classified them into four status groups — Bermudian, Spouse of Bermudian, non-Bermudian and Permanent Residents — based on information gathered in Government's annual Employment Survey.

While the report makes no analysis of the data collected and offers no conclusions, it is a snapshot of the labour market for the years 2004 through 2007.

The highest paid segment of the labour force — based on the four categories and gender — is male Spouses of Bermudians with median annual gross earnings of $65,928 in 2007. This group is closely followed by female non-Bermudians at $65,915.

Male non-Bermudians earned on average $62,587 followed by female Permanent Residents at $57,333, female Spouses of Bermudians at $57,174, male Permanent Residents at $55,920, male Bermudians at $51,267 and finally, female Bermudians at $48,748.

Overall income levels grew steadily over the years addressed. "One trend that both employers and employees are concerned about is that of salaries and wages," Chief Statistician Valerie Robinson-James told The Royal Gazette. "You will note that the median annual gross earnings has been on the rise since 2004 from $46,772 to $53,298 in 2007, for all job holders. However, the increase in the annual rate of inflation has to some extent led to the rise in gross earnings."

But the report also showed that the rate of growth in income was lower for Bermudians than for non-Bermudians. Average earnings for non-Bermudians grew 13.3 percent between 2004 and 2007 while Bermudians saw only a 9.9 percent rise in their pay packets.

And male Bermudians fared worse than females — women Bermudian workers' earnings rose 13.4 percent over the time period addressed while men saw only a ten percent rise.

Among the professions employing the greatest number of non-Bermudians were masons (497 males), chef de partie/cooks (459 males), accountants (329 males, 286 females), general waiters (295 males, 125 females), landscape gardeners (276 males) and registered nurses (244 females).

Alternatively, jobs most held by Bermudians included: labourers and semi-skilled labourers (901 males), administrative assistants (789 females), heavy truck drivers (429 males), senior clerks (705 females) and taxi operators (369 males).

The median age of a job holder was 42.7 years and, on average, workers put in 33 hours a week. Non-Bermudians work the longest hours — averaging 37.6 hours per week versus 34.8 for Permanent Residents, 32.2 for Spouses of Bermudians and 29 for Bermudians in 2007.

The number of Permanent Residents holding jobs increased from 286 in 2004 to 600 in 2007, however, this segment of the workforce is the most aged, with a workers' median age of 52.

The work force in general is greying, Ms Robinson-James admitted, but this need not be of major concern. "Overall, the workforce continues to grow older which is reflected by the steady increase in the median age of job holders," she said. "However, an older workforce is expected as the life expectancy for both males and females increased when last measured during the 2000 Census. The number of males now live to be 75 years on average while the number of females live to be 80 years on average. This may mean that even though the retirement age is 65 years, persons are choosing to stay in the labour market given the opportunity."

The average age of an expat worker is 37.6 compared to 42.7 for Bermudians and 44.4 for Spouses of Bermudians.

The number of jobs held by non-Bermudians has grown from 22.66 percent in 2004 to 25.18 percent in 2007. In 2007 Bermuda had 39,851 workers — 27,272 Bermudians, 10,037 non-Bermudians, 1,942 Spouses of Bermudians and 600 Permanent Residents.

The report also noted that there were 300 jobs unfilled in 2007, with executive secretaries, professional accountants, masons and managers/directors of finance most in need. In 2004, there were 240 unfilled positions.