There were nearly 30,000 enterprises in Malta in 2004, employing 108,264 persons and generating a turnover of almost Lm3.7 billion.

In 2004, there were 29,793 enterprise units in Malta. Over one half of these were concentrated in three sectors of economic activity. The retail sector accounted for over 7,754 enterprise units in Malta, and the construction and other business activities sectors each comprised almost 4,000 enterprises.

Employment in enterprises amounted to 108,264 persons in 2004, with the hotels and restaurants and the retail sectors each generating around 14,000 of these jobs.

Other major employers included the wholesale and the other business activities sectors. Within manufacturing, the sectors accounting for most jobs in 2004 included those producing food and beverages, furniture and electronic apparatus. Personnel costs by and large followed these patterns.

Enterprise turnover stood at just under Lm3.7 billion in 2004, of which three sectors – the wholesale, the retail and the manufacturing of electronic apparatus – generated a proportion of around 44 per cent. Value added in enterprises for 2004 is estimated at almost Lm1 billion.

Relative to turnover, value added tended to be spread more evenly across the various sectors of activity, with only one sector reporting value added in excess of Lm100 million.