Unemployment in Mauritius falls to 7.1 percent, minister says

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - The unemployment rate in Mauritius fell to 7.1 percent during the second quarter of 2016, down from 7.6 percent in the first quarter and 7.8 percent in the preceding year, the statistics agency of Mauritius said on Wednesday. The agency said there had been a decrease of 8,500 people in the labour force, and a corresponding decline in the numbers of both employed and unemployed people. The island's workforce was estimated at 580,100, out of a population of 1.3 million, in the second quarter. Mauritius predicts its unemployment rate will be 7.5 percent this year, down from 7.9 percent in 2014. (Reporting by Jean Paul Arouff; Editing by Katharine Houreld)