1 out of every 5 employed Gozitans worked in Malta in 2010-2015

Regional Labour Supply by Place of Residence and Work: 2010-2015, issued by the National Statistics Office is intended to introduce the improvements effected on the private and public sector data, for a proper delineation of employment data by 'place of work' and by 'place of residence.'

The NSO said that employment data is portrayed from two distinct perspectives for years 2010 to 2015; enabling users to observe commuter workers across regions.

These are the salient points:

In the period 2010-2015:

· On average, one out of every five employed persons resident in Gozo and Comino region worked in Malta region, with the majority engaged in the public sector;

· Employed persons in the private sector outnumber those in the public sector in both regions; with the private sector being a relatively smaller employer in the Gozo and Comino region when compared to Malta region.

· (Over the 6 year period) Full-time employment by place of work in Malta region and in Gozo and Comino region increased by 17.7 per cent and 11.5 per cent respectively;

· (Over the 6 year period) Full-time employment by place of residence in Malta region and in Gozo and Comino region increased by 17.6 per cent and 14.2 per cent respectively;

· The majority of Gozo and Comino residents engaged on a part-time basis were employed in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food services activities;

In 2015, unemployed persons were more likely to be:

o residing in the Southern Harbour district;

o in the 50+ age bracket; and

o registering for work for more than 104 weeks.

Census 2011 indicates that while the Gozo and Comino district had the highest proportion of employed persons residing and working within the same district, the Western district had the lowest. (The highest percentage of Gozo and Comino residents employed in Malta region worked in the Northern Harbour and Southern Harbour districts).

The NSO said that it publishes a set of national employment figures from two main sources: Gainfully Occupied Population (GOP) figures supplied monthly by JobsPlus, and the Labour Force Survey (LFS), a survey-based study conducted by the NSO on a quarterly basis.

Eurostat's European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010) and Eurostat's Manual on Regional Accounts Methods advocate the compilation of employment data series which distinguish between 'place of work' and 'place of residence' of the registered employed persons.

Employment by 'place of residence' definition is based on workers' residences as declared by their employers upon engagement, while the 'place of work' definition takes into account those persons who effectively work in a region irrespective of their region of residence. The latter definition is also motivated by the general principle of regional accounts, specifying that economic activity should be allocated to the region where the producer unit is resident.

The enhancement that the NSO is introducing through this information today relates to the improved delineation of regional employment data. The national employment figures remain unchanged and consistent with data published in the GOP news releases. The adjustments effected in this information relate to commuter workers across Malta and Gozo and Comino regions respectively, in particular reflecting the number of Gozo and Comino residents employed in Malta region.

The new series of regional employment which the NSO is publishing for the first time covers the 2010-2015 period. Data prior to 2010 is currently not available according to such definitions. The new set of data will also be the basis for upcoming revisions in the allocation of Regional Gross Value Added for the same period, which is dependent on regional employment. Total employed persons in Malta and Gozo and Comino region.

Total employed persons (full-time and part-time as a primary job) in Malta and Gozo and Comino regions, has grown steadily throughout the period 2010 to 2015. In 2015, this stood at 208,082, with the largest share pertaining to the Malta region.

Employed persons in Malta region (by place of work), was greater than the total number of employed persons resident in Malta region (by place of residence). The contrary prevailed in the case of Gozo and Comino region. The difference represents the net balance of commuter workers between respective regions.

The majority of commuter workers were Gozo and Comino residents working in the Malta region. On average, during the period 2010-2015 these accounted to 2,568. This implies that one out of every five employed persons resident in Gozo and Comino region worked in the Malta region. Year-on-year the number of commuter workers resident in Gozo and Comino region continued to increase, with the exception of a drop in 2013, mainly attributed to movements across regions in the public sector.

In 2015, the highest proportion of employed persons in Malta were in wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food services activities and the public administration and defence; compulsory and social security; education; human health and social work activities, 29.1 per cent and 23.8 per cent respectively.

Malta region had the highest proportion of employed persons in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food services activities, while in the Gozo and Comino region the majority worked in the public administration and defence; compulsory and social security; education; human health and social work activities.

Full-time employment in Malta region

By place of work

Full-time employment in Malta region in 2015 stood at 164,435, reflecting an increase of 17.7 per cent over 2010. Full-time employment in the private sector accounted to 75.2 per cent of the total, the remaining 24.8 per cent being in the public sector. The private sector contributed to 85.8 per cent of the total increase in employment when compared to 2010 levels.

The highest proportion of full-time employment in Malta region was registered in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food services activities, which accounted to 26.2 per cent of the total.

By place of residence

Malta residents who worked on a full-time basis reached 161,739 in 2015, an increase of 17.6 per cent when compared to 2010. The private sector amounted to 75.8 per cent of the total, while the remaining worked in the public sector.

Full-time employment in Gozo and Comino region

By place of work

In 2015, full-time employment in Gozo and Comino region amounted to 9,039, an increase of 11.5 per cent when compared to 2010. The private sector comprised 58.9 per cent of the total and contributed to 67.2 per cent of the total increase when compared to 2010.

Full-time employment in the private sector was largest in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food services activities at 40.8 per cent of the total. In the public sector, the public administration and defence; compulsory and social security; education; human health and social work activities accounted to 71.6 per cent of the total.

By place of residence

In 2015, Gozo and Comino residents with a full-time job totalled to 11,735, reflecting an increase of 14.2 per cent when compared to 2010. The private sector accounted to 55.2 per cent of the total.

The largest share of Gozo and Comino residents with a full-time job was in the public administration and defence; compulsory and social security; education; human health and social work activities, with the share of public sector in these activities amounting to 89.5 per cent. The aforementioned economic industries comprised 77.7 per cent of the total full-time employment of Gozo and Comino residents in the public sector.

On the other hand, the largest proportion of full-time employed Gozo and Comino residents in the private sector worked in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food services activities, accounting to 37.2 per cent of the total private sector.

Full-time Gozo and Comino residents working in Malta region

In 2015, Gozo and Comino residents employed on a full-time basis in Malta region totalled 2,768, of which, 58.4 per cent worked in the public sector and the remaining 41.6 per cent worked in the private sector.

During the same year, 90.6 per cent of those working within the public sector worked in the public administration and defence; compulsory and social security; education; human health and social work activities while the majority of those working within the private sector, 22.0 per cent, worked in the professional, scientific and technical activities; administrative and support service activities.

Part-time employment of Gozo and Comino residents

The percentage distribution of the part-time employment differed throughout all economic activities. In 2015, total part-time employment of Gozo and Comino residents amounted to 4,167 of which, 53.0 per cent were part-time primary employment and the remaining were part-time secondary.

The largest share of part-time employment of Gozo and Comino residents was registered in wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food services activities, contributing to 39.4 per cent of the total. This featured in both part-time primary and secondary.

Persons registering for work, by district

In 2015, the largest share (27.8 per cent) of unemployed persons resided in the Southern Harbour district, amounting to 1,283 persons. The largest proportion of unemployed persons featured in the 50 years and over age bracket, accounting to 39.1 per cent of the total.

In terms of unemployment duration, most districts registered highest proportions in the 105 weeks and over cohort with the exception of the Northern and the Western districts which were characterised with the shortest unemployment duration of less than 12 weeks.