Unemployment in Malta up 8.7 per cent in May

Registered unemployment in Malta rose by 8.7 per cent in May 2013, when compared to the same month in the previous year, according to data provided by the ETC.

Meanwhile, unemployment in Gozo during the same period rose by 10.4 per cent.

Data, published by the National Statistics Office revealed a year-on-year growth of 789 people (13 per cent) have registered under Part 1 of the unemployment register, which includes new job seekers, re-entrants into the labour market and those made redundant by former employers.

Conversely, there was a decline of 29.1 per cent in people registering under Part 2, which encompasses workers who have been dismissed from work due to disciplinary action, left of their own free will, refused work or training or were struck off the register after inspection by law enforcement personnel.

The number of registered unemployed aged 45 and over increased by 269 equivalent to 9.7 per cent. In contrast, the number of registered unemployed under 20 years old dropped by 13.3 per cent over the same period.

A year-on-year increase was recorded in registrants whose duration of unemployment exceeded one year, by 506 or 21.5 per cent. On the other hand, unemployed people who had been on the register for less than 21 weeks decreased by 38, or 1.4 per cent.

During the period under review, the number of people with disability registering under Part 1 of the unemployment register went up by 48, or 10.1 per cent. In line with past trends, the largest share of unemployed men were seeking occupations in services, sales and crafts, whereas women mostly sought clerical jobs.