Developers want 'government's management' as employment and wages fall in construction

The Malta Developers Association said the result of the sample survey carried out by the National Statistics Office (NSO) during the first quarter of this year among construction enterprises, had once again confirms the current negative trend in the construction and property industry.

“This downturn continues to justify the position of the Malta Developers Association (MDA) that is insisting that the construction and property industry has to be managed by government in a professional, holistic and decisive manner, so that the right policies are put into action on a long-term basis,” MDA president Michael Falzon said.

 The MDA said the process leading to such measures cannot be postponed any longer and the matter is now assuming an urgency that Government can no longer ignore.

The NSO survey revealed that employment in this industry fell by 7.4%, wages and salaries by 6.5% and hours worked by 6.6%, when compared to the first quarter last year. Some of those who are losing jobs in the construction sector are moving to jobs with a lower income in other sectors of the economy, with negative social consequences, such as the breadwinner role of the families concerned being shared between husband and wife. These situations should perturb government even if they are not gleaned from employment statistics.