Government's latest Manpower Survey reveals.

And their representation in the workforce is now virtually equal to that of men, says the report tabled yesterday in the House of Assembly.

Of the 34,143 jobs held in Bermuda in 1994, 17,134 were held by men and 17,009 by women, the annual survey showed.

The job gap had narrowed since 1993, when women held 16,484 of the 33,427 jobs in Bermuda and men held 16,943.

In the Bermudian sector of the job market, women outnumbered men by 11 percent, with 14,157 jobs, compared to 12,773 held by their male counterparts.

The total number of filled jobs on the Island climbed by 716, or by 2.1 percent last year, and employers reported 755 vacancies.

While Bermudians accounted for 79 percent of the total job market, they secured only 62 percent of the new jobs that were created last year.

The number of non-Bermudians in the workforce jumped by 272, or 38 percent, to 7,213. Of the non-Bermudians who joined the workforce, 91 were spouses of Bermudians.

Nearly three quarters of the new jobs created in 1994 were in professional and managerial posts, while sales jobs accounted for nearly all of the remaining increase.

There were no major shifts in the numbers of jobs in given sectors of the economy. Hotels, restaurants and clubs employed 5,909 persons, or 17 percent of the working population, while banks, insurance, and real estate employed 15 percent of the job market.

The growth areas were: education, health, and community services, which gained 189 jobs; public administration and defence, which gained 180; business services (157); international companies (146); and banks, insurance, and real estate (107).

The biggest declines were in construction and hospitality, which lost 132 jobs and 86 jobs respectively.

These were also the occupations more likely to be held by men than women, the report said. Men also outnumbered women in the transport sector, while women outnumber men in wholesale and retail trade, the financial sector and education and community services.

The majority of employed people continue to work for a small number of firms, the report added. Just 109 companies, or three percent of the Island's firms, employed 18,517 people, or 54 percent of the workforce.

By contrast, there were 2,741 firms, or almost three quarters of all establishment, which employed five people or fewer. But they provided a total of just 4,422 jobs, or 22 percent of the workforce.

Of the 755 vacancies employers reported, 207 were in the professional and technical area, while 182 were clerical, and 143 were in the service industry.