Unemployment in Malta drops to record low

The number of people registered as unemployed has decreased to a record 1,254, according to figures released by the National Statistics Office (NSO).

Historic unemployment data. Source: NSO October 2021

For October 2021, the number of persons registering for work stood at 1,542, decreasing by 1,860 when compared to the corresponding month in 2020.

Registered unemployment levels decreased across all age
groups for both males and females.

Prime Minister Robert Abela took to Twitter to highlight the record.

In October those registering for #employment were just 1,254, a new record low. This represents a quarter less unemployment than at the start of the #pandemic and six times less than in March 2013. – RA
— Robert Abela (@RobertAbela_MT) November 22, 2021

“This represents a quarter less unemployment than at the start of the pandemic and six times less than in March 2013,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, the situation on the ground paints a somewhat less rosy picture than the NSO’s figures, so much so that the Government had to include a raft of measures in the Budget 2022 to address the severe labour shortage faced by all economic sectors.

According to the Labour Force survey for the second quarter of 2021, the number of unemployed persons stood at 9,676 (2.2 per cent) while inactive persons totalled 165,531 (37.5 per cent).

Written by

Matthew Bonanno

Matthew has had a keen interest in current affairs from a young age, and has recently increased his efforts to learn more about economics. He also enjoys cooking, watching football and getting into different sports before quickly losing interest.

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