Employment income rose by 1.2 per cent in Bermuda in the second quarter of this year, according to data from the Office of the Tax Commissioner.

The island’s working population earned a total of $873.28 million during the April-through-June period, up by $10.58 million from the corresponding quarter in 2018.

The majority of the gains were achieved by the international business sector, in which the combined pay packet grew by more than $8 million to $284.49 million.

The biggest percentage gain came in the public administration and defence sector, which includes government workers. The sector recorded an increase of $4.57 million in employment income, representing a 4.3 per cent year-over-year gain, as workers earned a total of $111.78 million.

The largest percentage fall came in the transport and communication segment, in which employment compensation totalled $17.05 million, down 9.4 per cent year over year.

The data was published in the Quarterly Bulletin of Statistics, issued by the Department of Statistics on Friday.

The report also highlighted the continuing trend of rising government revenues. Data from the Office of the Accountant-General showed that the Government took in $270.3 million in the three-month period, up 6.8 per cent year over year.

Payroll tax, which amounted to $131.6 million for the three-month period, up 3.7 per cent, was by far the largest contributor to government coffers in the second quarter.

There was a notable decline of 9 per cent in Customs duty, the second-largest contributor to revenues, which fell to $53.7 million in the quarter, down from $59 million a year earlier.

On the island’s company register, there was little sign of an exodus prompted by EU-inspired economic substance rules, as the second quarter ended with 16,447 companies registered, up by 18 from a year earlier.

However, new registrations fell by 26.6 per cent to 212, a third successive quarter of year-over-year decline.