The number of people engaged in national economy totalled in the second quarter of this year about 1326 thousand persons, by 140 more than in the first quarter. The rate of male population employed in economy is practically equal to the female one. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, rural areas accounted for 58.1% and urban settlements for 41.9% of the total. The employment rate for the age group 15 years and older stood at 45.2% in the second quarter 2007. The highest employment rate was recorded among the persons aged 50-54 years – 70.3%. The employment rate of persons aged 25-54 accounted for 72.8% of the total. Young persons aged 15-24 constituted 9.7%, whereas the persons older than 65 years – 4%. Five in six persons aged 65 and older were employed in agricultural activities. By form of property, 71.9% of the population was working in the private sector, whereas 24.5% - in public property entities. The employment rate in the private sector was also prevailing in agriculture (98.3%), in trade (96.3%), in construction (94.4%), in hotel industry (95.2%) and in the processing industry (72.3%).