Nearly half of Malta’s businesses worry about employee shortages

Nearly half of respondents to a small and medium businesses survey listed employee shortages (45 per cent) as their top concern.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs in collaboration with Misco Malta published the results of the later SME Barometer (Q2 2025) Survey conducted amongst a total of 406 businesses between 8th and 21st July 2025.

When asked what the topmost important issues are concerning their businesses, respondents stated that the most pressing issues are: Employee shortage (45 per cent), unfair competition (24 per cent) and excessive competition (17 per cent). Other key challenges include skills mismatch, late payments and inflation.

For the first time, overpopulation (37 per cent) has overtaken corruption and governance as the top national concern for SMEs.

Ongoing worries include the lack of good governance (31 per cent) and the level of corruption (26 per cent), with inflation (24 per cent) continuing to impact operational costs.

Sentiment regarding the country’s direction remains generally negative.

Consistent with Q1 2025 results, only 30 per cent of respondents believe that Malta is moving in the right direction, while 70 per cent feel the country is headed in the wrong direction.

An additional question related to government various schemes, grants and incentives show that government support schemes receive mixed reviews, with 52 per cent satisfied and 48 per cent dissatisfied. However a pattern depending on the size of business shows that small businesses are the most dissatisfied.

The SME Chamber recommends support for micro and small businesses, including:

• Revamping Micro Invest with a raised credit cap to €70,000
• Improving customs enforcement, transparency, and regulatory efficiency
• Creating a centralised advisory platform for green and digital funding access

SME Chamber President Paul Abela warned that “unfair competition is having a significant impact on businesses, directly affecting their growth, alongside ongoing operational issues such as staff shortages”.

Meanwhile, MISCO Director Lawrence Zammit noted that concerns about overpopulation may be linked to the peak tourism season. He also emphasised that the findings highlight the importance of continued investment in upskilling.

SME Chamber COO Andrew Aquilina stressed the need to “strengthen support for micro and small businesses and enhance schemes and incentives that have historically provided critical assistance to these enterprises.”