ABOUT 1,600 job seekers have obtained employment through the government's Labour on the Blocks job fairs, Labour Minister Dion Foulkes said yesterday.

The unemployment rate has remained persistently high over the last decade, with a rate of 10.7 percent according to the last labour force survey. Labour on the Blocks uses community parks to register job seekers in the Department of Labour's database.

During his budget speech in the Senate, Mr Foulkes said the programme will be expanded and merged with the Over-the-Hill economic programme and the National Training Agency to address job vacancies in the maritime sector.

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