Unemployment in Malta: Facts & Figures

Statistics issued on 23 September by the National Statistics Office shows an increase in the number of people whose name appears on the unemployment list in August when compared to the previous month. In fact, the list of unemployed people at the Employment and Training Corporation increased by 138 people in August. The list increased from 7,914 in July 2003 to 8,052 in August 2003.

The increase turned out to be much more drastic when compared to the same month last year. When comparing the number of people registering their names on the unemployment list in August 2002 and August 2003, one would see an increase of 640 people during this one-year period.

In December 1997, the total number of people claiming they were unemployed stood at 7,693. Of these, 6,475 were males while the rest were females. On the same month the following year, there were 7,910 people registering as unemployed while in 1999, the number continued to climb to 8,306.

In the year 2000, the number of unemployed people dropped by over 1,100 people to 7,188. Of these, 6,142 were males while the rest - i.e. 1,046 - were females. Since then, the number of unemployed continued to increase but did not reach the 1999 figure. In 2001, the number of unemployed people as at December stood at 7,433 while the following year, this figure increased slightly to 7,516.

Comparing figures available for July 2002 and July 2003, one could also see an increase of around 700 people. In July 2002, the amount stood at 7,177, while in July 2003, the figure was 7,914.

(Note: all the figures mentioned above cover both part 1 and 2 of the unemployment register)

What is the unemployment register?

It is very simple. Basically, those who are jobless are given some form of cash allowance from the government in view of their situation. People registering on the unemployment list can either register under part one or part two of the unemployment list.

Part 1 - Those people registering under this part of the list are either new job seekers who have just left school, those who stopped working for a period of time and would like to start working again or job losers who have been made redundant by their former employees.

Part 2 - Those people registering under this part of the list are either people who have been dismissed from work as a result of disciplinary action, those who left work of their own free will, those who refused work or training opportunities or were struck off the register after an inspection by the Law Enforcement personnel.

Part 1 figures

In July 2002, there were 6,557 people registering for work under part one of the employment register. Of these, 6,102 were from Malta while 455 were Gozitan. A year later, this amount increased by more than 500 in Malta (6,647) and by nearly 100 in Gozo (539). The number of Gozitan women registering on the unemployment list increased from 80 in July 2002 to 128 in July 2003. The number of Gozitan males also increased from 375 to 411 in this one-year time period.

Between August 2002 and August 2003, the number of people registering for unemployment under part one increased by 658 from 6,748 to 7,406. The list increased by 370 males and 188 females. In Gozo, there was also an increase of people registering on the unemployment list. The 377 males increased to 408 while the 90 females increased to 159.

When seeing the latest statistics for August 2003 in more detail, one would immediately notice that the largest number of people on the unemployment list are in the 30 to 44 age bracket. In this age bracket, the total number of males and females registering for work reached the 2,429 mark. This age bracket is followed by those over 45 years of age with a total of 1,948 people.

A total of 1,172 people on the unemployment list are between 20 and 24 years old, followed by 976 who are under 20 years of age and finally 881 who are between 25 and 29 years old.

A closer look at the sexes reveals that the largest number of males registering on the unemployment list is between 30 and 44 years of age. The same cannot be said for the females, because the largest number of females registering for unemployment falls in the age bracket of those who are below the age of 20 - four years after officially leaving school!

Seeing the situation in Gozo from a closer perspective, one could see that the largest group of women registering for unemployment under this part is in the 20 to 24 age bracket with a total of 49 females on the list. This age bracket is closely followed by those under 20 years old (41) and those who are between 30 and 44 years old (38). The smallest number of females on the Gozo list - 11 - is those of women over 45 years old. Also in Gozo, 124 men on the list are between 30 and 44 years old, 83 are over 45, 77 are between 20 and 24 years old and 63 are between 25 and 29 years old.

August 2003 broke the record for women registering their names on part one of the unemployment list since 1997. The 1,617 females on the list surpassed the 1,518 in July 2003; 1,360 in August 2002; 1,303 in July 2002; 1,102 in December 1997; 1,007 in December 1998; 1,084 in December 1999; 918 in December 2000; 1,107 in December 2001 and 1,172 in December 2002.

Part2 Figures

Figures of people registering for unemployment under part two of the register show a slight improvement - a decrease of 18 persons when comparing August 2003 with August the previous year. In August 2003 the figure stood at 646 (622 in Malta and 24 in Gozo) while in August 2002 the number of people registering under this part of the register was 664 (634 in Malta and 30 in Gozo).

Dividing these numbers according to sex reveals that while in August 2002, 502 were male and 182 were female, in August 2003 there were 462 males and 184 females.

In August 2003, the majority of people registering for unemployment under this part of the unemployment register (167) were in the 20 to 24 year age gap. This age bracket was closely followed by those between 30 and 44 years old (151) and those under 20 years old (147). A total of 92 people registering under this part of the register were between 25 and 39 while 89 were over 45 years old.

When comparing figures available for July 2002 and July 2003, one could see an increase of 108 people, up from 620 people in July 2002 to 728 people in last July.

In December 1997 the figure stood at 544, 473 in December 1998, 611 in December 1999 and 605 in December 2000. In December 2001, this part of the list had a total of 680 people listed on it while in December 2002; there were 742 people whose name appeared on this part of the list.

Duration of registration

Out of the total of 7,406 people whose name appeared on part one of the unemployment register in August 2003, 3,147 have been registering for work for less than 20 weeks. There were 1,391 people who have been registering for work under this part for between 21 and 52 weeks, while 2,868 have been registering for 53 weeks and over.

Analysing the duration of registration for those figures available for August 2002, one could see that out of the total of 6,748 people, 2,366 have been registering for less than 20 weeks, 1,467 for been 21 and 52 weeks and 2,915 have been registering for more than 53 weeks.

From the total of 646 people registering under part two, 584 have been doing so for less than 20 weeks while 62 have been registering for more than 21 weeks.

Persons who used to work on a service contract basis (employed) and therefore paid Class I contributions, and who satisfy a contribution test as explained in paragraph 6 below, are entitled to receive Unemployment Benefit, on condition that they are registering for employment under the Part I register kept by the Employment and Training Corporation.

The rate payable to persons under pension age for unemployment is Lm2.38 per day, while that payable to persons under Pension Age for special unemployment is Lm4.00 per day. If you maintain your spouse, who is unemployed, or you are a single parent, the rate payable for unemployment is Lm 3.66c per day, while that for special unemployment is Lm6.14. The payment is based on each day of unemployment, excluding Sundays.

For you to qualify for Unemployment Benefit or Special Unemployment Benefit, you are to satisfy the following contribution conditions. These are:

(a) that you have paid not less than fifty (50) contributions since you entered the Social Security Scheme (contributions paid during self-occupation are ignored) and

(b) that you have paid or have at least twenty (20) contributions or contribution credits in the last two full contribution years immediately before the start of the benefit year during which the claim is submitted.

Contribution year starts on the first Monday of January of any year and ends on the last Sunday before the first Monday of January of the following year. Benefit year starts on the first Monday of July of any year and ends on the last Sunday before the first Monday of July of the following year.