Malta sees September surge in full-time employment

The job market in Malta remained robust in September even as the economy was impacted by the second wave of COVID-19 infections, with full time employment increasing. However, part time work, particularly in accommodation and food services, decreased markedly.

A job market report by the National Statistics Office (NSO) released on Tuesday reveals that in September 2020, registered full-time employment increased by 4.6 per cent while part-time employment as a primary job decreased by 9.9 per cent when compared to the corresponding month in 2019.

When comparing September 2020 to September 2019, registered full-time employment in the private sector went up by 8,813 persons to 181,653, while public sector full-time employment increased by 1,405 persons to 49,926.

The highest increase in employment was brought about by administrative and support service activities and human health and social work activities, with 2,596 and 1,700 respectively.

The number of persons registered as full-time self-employed rose by 2,476 when compared to September 2019, while the number of persons registered as employees increased by 7,742.

Registered part-time employment in September 2020 decreased by 3.1 per cent when compared to the same month in 2019.

Employment within the accommodation and food services sector was hit the hardest, with a decrease of 1,415 part time employees when compared to September 2019.

On the other hand, the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector actually had an increase of 237 registered part-timers.

The number of part-timers who also held a full-time job amounted to 31,674, up by five per cent when compared to the corresponding month in 2019.

However, employed persons whose part-time job was their primary occupation totalled 32,136, down by 9.9 per cent when compared to 2019.

Meanwhile, administrative data provided by JobsPlus show that, over a period of one year, the labour supply (excluding part-timers) in September 2020 increased by 5.4 per cent, reaching 234,964. This was mainly attributed to a year-on-year increase in the full-time registered employment (10,218) and an increase in registered unemployment (1,717).