apartments (80.1% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 81 apartments (15.0%) were seasonally occupied and 26 apartments (4.8%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.8 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the district, , was 1.03%. The historical population is given in the following chart: Heritage sites of national significance The Bürgerhaus Roothuus is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. Politics In the 2007 federal election the CVP received 81.9% of the vote. In the federal election, a total of 226 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 21.1%. Economy , Gonten had an unemployment rate of 0.3%. , there were 200 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 94 businesses involved in this sector. 125 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 15 businesses in this sector. 234 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 40 businesses in this sector. There were 675 residents of the district who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 38.2% of the workforce. the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 440. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 148, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 112 of which 80 or (71.4%) were in manufacturing and 32 (28.6%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 180. In the tertiary sector; 32 or 17.8% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 20 or 11.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 45 or 25.0% were in a hotel or restaurant, 6 or 3.3% were the insurance or financial industry, 6 or 3.3% were technical professionals or scientists, 9 or 5.0% were in education and 37 or 20.6% were in health care. , there were 131 workers who commuted into the district and 311 workers who commuted away. The district is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.4 workers leaving the district for every one entering. Of the working population, 5.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 44% used a private car. Transport The district has three railway stations: , , and . All three are located on the Gossau–Wasserauen line of Appenzell Railways. Religion From the , 1,245 or 90.3% were Roman Catholic, while 78 or 5.7% belonged to the