In February, registered full-time employment increased by 3.3 per cent compared with the corresponding month in 2013, while registered part-timers as their primary job rose by 5.8 per cent.

Administrative data provided by the ETC show that over a period of one year, the labour supply (excluding part-timers, see methodological notes) increased by 3.4 per cent, reaching 168,288. This was mainly attributed to increases in the full-time gainfully occupied population (+5,123) and in registered unemployment (+474).

Registered Full-Time Employment

In the month under review, the Public Administration and Defence, Compulsory Social Security and the Administrative and Support Service Activities sectors contributed mostly to the increase in employment. These increases were partly counteracted by drops in employment, which were registered mostly within the Construction and the Water Supply, Sewerage, Waste Management and Remediation Activities sectors. Full-time employment within the private sector increased by 2.9 per cent, while that within the public sector increased by 4.3 per cent.

The number of persons registered as full-time self-employed rose by 353 when compared with February last year, while the number of persons registered as employees increased by 4,770. Male and female full-time employment went up by 2.1 per cent and 5.4 per cent respectively over 2013 levels.

Registered Part-Time Employment

Registered part-time employment for February went up by 5.3 per cent compared to last year. The sector that contributed mostly to this increase was the Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motor Cycles. Drops in part-time employment were registered in Information and Communication. 

In February, the number of part-timers who also held a full-time job amounted to 24,337, up by 4.6 per cent compared to the corresponding month in 2013. Employed persons whose part-time job was their primary occupation totalled 33,443; up by 5.8 per cent or 1,820 persons.

PN, PL react

In a statement, PL MP Silvio Schembri lauded the results and said the 3.3% increase in full-time jobs is in line with the government’s job creation policies.

“Today we have the highest ever number of gainfully employed. Government incentives, like free childcare and income tax reductions are bearing fruit."

Mr Schembri said that the majority of jobs in the public sector were created within the national security, education and health sectors, and this is proof that the government believes in these sectors.

But PN MP Tonio Fenech criticised the fact that more than a third of new jobs were in the public sector and accused the government of using this tactic to try and hide rising unemployment.

“NSO statistics published today show that the government employed 1,800 persons in the past twelve months. This is more than a third of the total number of full-time jobs created in the same period.” Mr Fenech warned that this is putting the country’s financial situation under strain and will keep the government under the European Commission’s excessive deficit procedure.