Maltese less satisfied with life, but more positive on economy

The latest Eurobarometer survey on the social climate registers a 12-point rise in the percentage of Maltese with a positive outlook on the country's employment situation and a seven-point increase in those who express a positive view on the economy.  82% also express a positive assessment of Malta's health system.

But despite this growing optimism on the economic front, the Maltese are more dissatisfied with their life in general.

Moreover while they are particularly satisfied with their health care system, the Maltese are more negative than other Europeans with regards the cost of living and energy prices.

This is the picture emerging from a Eurobarometer survey on the social climate conducted last June, which shows a 5-point decline in life satisfaction in the EU.

The survey shows that the number of Maltese satisfied with their lives has seen a decline of seven points from 85% in 2011 to 78% in 2012.

But the perception on the employment situation in Malta has markedly improved over the past year with 44% expressing a positive assessment, up by 12 points from last year. This compares well with the rest of European Union where only 22% have a positive assessment of their country's employment situation.

On the other hand the number of those with a negative assessment of the employment situation in Malta has declined by 15 points to 46%.

The survey also shows that 58% of the Maltese express a positive assessment of their personal job situation. This is one point down from last year.

The survey also shows a very positive assessment of the Maltese health care system with 82% judging it positively-25% of which very positively.  The situation remains unchanged over the past year.  Malta's positive appreciation of its health system is far higher than the rest of the EU where only 62% express a similar judgement.

According to the survey report Malta has particularly positive expectations of its healthcare system, 23% expecting it to improve and 8% expecting it to get worse.

Nearly half of respondents in Malta (47%) say the system has improved over the past 5 years, compared with only 17% who say it has got worse. This is a considerably more positive result than for any other Member State, with Belgium, where 17% see improvement and 12% deterioration, the next most positive.

The survey still shows that the Maltese still express a negative assessment on the state of the Maltese economy but the latest survey registers a significant improvement over last year.

Over the past year the number of those expressing a positive assessment of the Maltese economy has risen by 7 points to 32%.  Malta fares slightly better than the rest of the EU where only 30% have a positive assessment of their country's economy.

Over the past year a significant improvement was also registered with regards to housing affordability with the percentage of those considering housing to be affordable rising from 11% to 18%. 

87% express a negative assessment on the affordability of energy prices.  This is far higher than the 68% who express a similar assessment in the EU as a whole.  But the number of Maltese who consider energy prices affordable has increased by 3 points over last year.  The Maltese register the sixth highest negative perception on energy prices in Europe.

Perceptions on the cost of living remain highly negative with 86% (4 points down from last year) expressing a negative outlook on this aspect, far higher than the EU average of 70%.

The perception of the Maltese on the financial situation of their household remains the same with 63% describing it as good and 35% describing it as bad.  The percentage of Maltese with a positive assessment of their financial situation is just a point higher than the European average of 62%

Overall Malta is one of 10 EU countries with a positive score in the EU social climate index which assesses the perception of Europeans on various social indicators ranging from employment to healthcare.