Sri Lanka’s unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent in the second quarter of 2016 compared to 4.2 percent in the first quarter of the year according to official data.

According to a survey made by Sri Lanka’s Census and Statistics Department, the number of unemployed persons is estimated as 377,987 during the second quarter of 2016.

Unemployment among females is higher than that among males in all age groups, the survey revealed.

Even among the educated, female unemployment rate is higher than those of males in all levels of education.

Youth unemployment (aged 15-24) has also seen a significant increase in the second quarter, standing at 22.2 percent.

The government has said recently that it hoped to create 1 million new jobs through foreign development projects which were expected to come into the the island country by early next year.