to find Bermuda's jobless total, Minister of Labour & Home Affairs the Hon.

Irving Pearman said yesterday.

Mr. Pearman said 73 people from the Island's eastern end made their way to designated post offices yesterday despite a heavy downpour during most of the exercise.

"The enumerators were pleased with the attitude of the people who registered and what appeared to be the general quality of people who should be easy to register for employment,'' he said.

"Appreciating it hasn't been the most pleasant day, we look forward to the next two days to see how the final total comes out.'' The survey was a follow-up to the 1991 Census report in which it was discovered some 2,000 persons were unemployed last May.

Staff from the Labour and Home Affairs Ministry, the Department of Social Services and the Chamber of Commerce conducted surveys from postal offices in St. David's, St. George's, Harrington Sound and Crawl. A registration desk was also set up at Francis Patton School.

The registration was held between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

At the St. George's post office, volunteers counted 35 participants, the majority of whom were women.

"We're amazed because of the weather and the holiday weekend ahead that many people came out,'' said Ms Sheila Van Hien, a volunteer who works with a local employment agency. "We were not expecting that many.'' It was noted that most women ranged between the age of 20-30, although a couple of women in their 70s braved the inclement weather.

Quite a number of single mothers responded to the survey, and the majority of women had dependents.

"It's amazing that a lot of them had not applied for social service before,'' added Ms Van Hien, "because they thought they were not entitled to it because they live with their parents. But that's not so.'' Volunteers at the St. George's post office also noticed that no one from the hotel industry responded. Most were sales assistants in the retail industry who had been made redundant due to a lack of work.

An unusual trend found people registering who had not previously worked but are now interested in doing so.

A couple from the construction industry also attended.

Today registration will be held in Warwick, Southampton, Somerset, and Mangrove Bay post offices and tomorrow in Flatts, Devonshire and Paget.

They will also be held at the Bishop Spencer School and the Government Employment Office in Hamilton from 9 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.

Anyone requiring more information is asked to ring 297-7714.

SURVEYING THE UNEMPLOYED -- Volunteers Ms Yolanda Burrows and Ms Sheila Van Hien at the St. George's Post Office.