The Finance Ministry in a statement this afternoon said that it “wishes to underline that, despite recent newspaper and media reports which are attempting to suggest that unemployment in Malta is increasing, Malta’s unemployment rate is on a downward trend and remains fourth-lowest in the European Union.”

The Ministry added that it “notes a press release published by Eurostat on 1st October 2013 which announced that Malta’s unemployment rate stood at 6.4% in August 2013. This places us alongside countries like Austria (4.9%), Germany (5.2%) and Luxembourg (5.8%).”

“Furthermore,” the Ministry said, “Malta remains firmly below the unemployment averages for the Eurozone (12%) and the European Union (10.9%).”

The Finance Ministry said that “Eurostat’s press release also shows that Malta’s unemployment rate is on a downward trend, dropping from 6.6% in May 2013 to 6.4% in August.”

The Ministry pointed out “that recently published administrative unemployment data refers only to registered persons and is intended to provide information on the profile of these persons. It is not intended to reflect the national unemployment rate, which includes both registered and unregistered persons seeking a job.”

“Furthermore,” the Ministry added, “relying only on the number of persons registering for work would not provide observers with an accurate picture of the unemployment rate, as it does not account for the growth of the labour force.”

The unemployment rate, as published officially by Eurostat, is based on the percentage of the entire labour force, the Ministry said.

“In fact, Malta’s unemployment rate in August 2012 stood at 6.5%, while in August of this year it stood at 6.4%. This decrease is contrary to what some media are being led to believe,” the Ministry concluded.

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