The Finance Ministry today said that, despite recent newspaper and media reports which are attempting to suggest that unemployment in Malta is increasing, Malta’s unemployment rate is on a downward trend and remains fourth-lowest in the European Union.
The media reports were based on figures given by the National Statistics Office which showed that there had been an increase of 13% in unemployment figures between September 2012 and September 2013. The Malta Independent is reproducing the NSO statement word for word as it was received yesterday in the link below.
In a statement, the Ministry referred to a press release published by Eurostat on 1 October 2013 which announced that Malta’s unemployment rate stood at 6.4% in August 2013. This places us alongside countries like Austria (4.9%), Germany (5.2%) and Luxembourg (5.8%).
Furthermore, Malta remains firmly below the unemployment averages for the Eurozone (12%) and the European Union (10.9%).
Eurostat’s press release also shows that Malta’s unemployment rate is on a downward trend, dropping from 6.6% in May 2013 to 6.4% in August.
Without referring to the NSO statement directly, the ministry pointed out that recently published administrative unemployment data refers only to registered persons and is intended to provide information on the profile of these persons. It is not intended to reflect the national unemployment rate, which includes both registered and unregistered persons seeking a job.
Furthermore, relying only on the number of persons registering for work would not provide observers with an accurate picture of the unemployment rate, as it does not account for the growth of the labour force.
The unemployment rate, as published officially by Eurostat, is based on the percentage of the entire labour force.
In fact, Malta’s unemployment rate in August 2012 stood at 6.5%, while in August of this year it stood at 6.4%. This decrease is contrary to what some media are being led to believe, the ministry said.
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-10-24/news/number-of-unemployed-up-13-in-september-2980052992/