Number of people registering for work in August 2021 decreases by 2,230 year-on-year

August 2021 saw the number of people registering as unemployed go down yet again, this by 100 people when compared to the preceding month.

In August, the total number of people who registered for work stood at 1,442, while in July it stood at 1,542. When compared to one year ago, the unemployment register declined by 2,230 individuals.

While historically low unemployment rates bode well for the country’s economy and the desire to taper off COVID support measures, the news will be of little relief to businesses across several sectors, most notably in hospitality, which continue to struggle to find enough staff.

It is widely acknowledged that several foreign workers returned to their home country since the pandemic hit Malta, and this has left a particularly worrisome impact on the hospitality industry, with several eateries announcing they have reduced opening hours or will close for an extra day per week due to staff shortages.

The unemployment data comes from a National Statistics Office release, which noted that registered unemployment levels decreased across all age groups for both males and females.

Those who had been registering for work for less than 21 weeks, decreased considerably when compared to the same month in 2020. Drops were also recorded amongst those persons who were registering for work for more than 21 weeks.

The number of persons with a disability who were registering for work increased by 6 when compared to the previous year, reaching 267 persons. Males accounted for 74.9 per cent of total registrants with a disability.

The largest share of males and females on the unemployment register sought occupations as Clerical support workers, with 23.1 per cent and 46.0 per cent respectively.