2,250 unemployed in November 2017, down from 7,800 in January 2015

There are 2,246 people registered as unemployed and looking for work in Malta as of November 2017, the latest date for which there are statistics.

Replying to a parliamentary question by Labour MP Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, education minister Evarist Bartolo presented statistics for the 2011 to 2017 periods, showing that unemployment had reached a high of 7,789 in January 2014, but is currently at its lowest in this statistical period.

While the number of unemployed persons in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 hovered around the 6,200 to 7,800 mark, as from March 2015 figures started mostly dropping steadily, with only occasional minor increases registered.

The major industry sectors where the previously unemployed found work were manufacturing; wholesale and retail trade and the repair of motor vehicle and motorcycles; and administrative and support service activities, data tabled in parliament showed.

Moreover, construction, transport and storage, and accommodation and food service activities were also significant sectors in which the unemployed found new jobs.

A total of 142 unemployed people found jobs in the public administration and defence or compulsory social security sections in 2017, down from a high of 349 in 2014. In 2011 and 2012, 146 and 156 persons respectively found employment in this sector.

Women in the workforce

The number of women with full-time or part-time jobs stood at 93,346 as of June 2017.

This was an increase of more than 3,500 from the number of women in the workforce in December 2016, and an increase of almost 25,400 from the December 2011 statistic of 67,960.

The data shows that, from December 2011 to June 2017, roughly 3,600 more women each year entered the workforce.

The sectors that women most commonly found work in were the wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles sector; the education sector; human health and social work activities; and the administrative and support service sector.