Updated | 3,346 full-time employment increase in four months

Adds reaction by the PN

Government's strategy for job creation, based on the creation and distribution of wealth was coming to fruition, the Office of the Prime Minister said in a statement.

According to statistics issued by the Employment and Training Corporation, over 157,000 individuals were in full time employment, while over 58,000 were employed in part-time work as a July 2013.

According to the government, the numbers represent an increase of 3,346 in full-time employment and 3,201 in part-time employment since March.

"The numbers provided by ETC reflect other positive results obtained during the second quarter of this year. This year, there has been a 3.6% increase in employment, the highest ever since the year 2000," the government said.

"Malta currently enjoys the fourth lowest rate of unemployment within the European Union."

The Office of the Prime Minister insisted that these results, while encouraging, didn't mean that it was enough. "The government has drafted a budget which gives the creation of quality jobs an incentive," it said.

It went on to list the measures for free child care centres, the youth guarantee, apprenticeship schemes among others and job incentives for Gozitans in Gozo.

"For this government, work is a priority," the OPM concluded.

In a reaction, Nationalist MPs Mario de Marco, Tonio Fenech and Stephen Spiteri accused the government of misguiding the public when it reported that unemployment rates were decreasing.

Statistics published by the National Statistics Office - as opposed to the ETC - show that there has also been an increase of 634 in individuals registering for work.

"In other words, while the country has continued in generating new places of work, it is not creating enough to meet the number of people looking for a job," the Opposition said.

Put simply, the number of people looking for a job were increasing at a quicker pace than the number of places being created. This, the PN said, was resulting in an unemployment rate increasing every month.

The MPs pointed out that a number of companies, especially those operating in manufacture, were laying off people.

"The Labour government has so far presented no plan to provide a remedy," the Opposition said.

The PN urged the government to draft a concrete plan to help companies finding themselves in difficulty. It also urged the government to produce a long-term plan for job creation.