The jobless total for last year has dipped compared to 2012, the latest Government statistics have revealed.

The 2013 unemployment rate was seven percent, compared to eight percent in 2012, with 2,569 people looking for work last year.

That represents a fall in the jobless total of 736 compared to 2012’s 3305 unemployed.

More people were working in 2013 — a total of 35,989 — compared to the 35,874 recorded for the year before, an increase of 115.

Incomes were also on the rise, with the median gross annual income hitting $62,211, up $3,513 on 2012’s $58,698.

But people are working harder for their money — the average number of hours in the working week rose three hours to 41 hours.

The figures are contained in the latest labour force survey, released by Government’s Department of Statistics.

The survey said there the total workforce — those aged between 16-64 expressed as a percentage of total population in that age group — was 38,558, down 621 on the previous year’s total of 39,179.

The labour force participation rate showed a corresponding fall of one percent, down from 83 percent in 2012 to 82 percent last year.

There were 27,309 Bermudians and 5,443 non-Bermudians in the workforce, with the Bermudian proportion static at 76 percent between 2012 and 2013, while the non-Bermudian share held steady at 15 percent.

The number of non-Bermudian spouses working fell by 323, reducing their share of the workforce from six percent to five percent.

But that was offset by an increase in the number of Permanent Resident Certificate holders in the workforce of 347 to 1,569 — a 28 percent increase compared to the 2012 total of 1,222.

The survey showed that more than half the major sectors of the economy showed declines in numbers in 2013, with finance and business services hit hardest, while the hospitality and bar sectors showed the biggest growth in numbers employed.

The numbers working in financial intermediation dropped by 717 staff, while the number employed in business services fell by 628 people.

The report added: “The level of workforce totals in industries such as banking and insurance dropped from 3,131 to 2,414 and from 4,139 to 3,511 in business services.

“Self-employed persons and companies that provide management, accounting, legal and IT services comprise the main share of employment in the business services industry.

“Among the industry groups with higher employment levels, the strongest growth occurred in the hotel sector and the restaurants, cafes and bars sector, up by 1,079 workers and 857 workers respectively.”