Key Indicators on the Labour Market over the period 2011-2015, show that the activity rate increased by 5.7 percentage points. Most of this increase may be attributed to a higher uptake of females in the labour market, the National Statistics Office reported today.

In this regard the female activity rate increased from 44.7 per cent in 2011 to 53.8 per cent in 2015. the largest increase in females was recorded in the 25-54 age bracket (+11.8 percentage points) followed by the 55-64 age bracket (+7 percentage points).

Compared to the EU28 average, the national activity rate for 2015 was 4.9 percentage points lower. From a closer look at the activity rates it emerges that national values for the younger segment of the population (15-24) were higher than the EU28 average, whereas EU28 averages tend to be higher than Malta’s values for the other age groups.

The rate of early school leavers (ESL) for 2015 stood at 19.8 per cent, a drop of 2.9 percentage points between 2011 and 2015. The ESL rate for males declined from 28.8 per cent in 2011 to 22.9 per cent in 2015. However, the ESL rate for females remained practically constant with an average of 17.1 per cent over the last five years.

Over the period under review, on average more than 7 out of 100 persons aged 25-64 years participated in lifelong learning. When compared to the EU average, the national rate in 2015 was 3.5 percentage points lower.

Tertiary educational attainment for the 30-34 age group has been on the increase for the past five years. This was mainly due to the fact that more females are opting to further their studies at tertiary level, with an increase of 8.0 percentage points over five years.

In line with the trends observed in the activity rates, the past five years have also seen an increase in the rate of persons in employment between the 20-64 age bracket. In 2015, the national employment rate resulted to be lower than the EU average for the 15-64 age bracket and the 20-64 age bracket. However, Malta’s rates for both males (45.9 per cent) and females (45.2 per cent) were higher for the younger segment of the population when compared to the EU28 average.

In all instances, with the exception of the 55-64 age bracket, the national employment rate for males was higher than the EU28 average. On the other hand, among females, EU rates were higher across all age groups with the exception of the younger segment of 15-24. For this group, the female employment rate for Malta in 2015 was 14.0 percentage points higher than the EU28 average.

Over five years, at a national level the share of persons in part-time increased. However, compared to EU28 average the level registered in Malta during 2015 was 5.2 percentage points lower. In terms of employees working on definite contracts, the information for the past five years reveals that there is a slight increase in this kind of working arrangement. However, in 2015 the national rate (7.6 per cent) was almost half the EU average.

The gender pay gap (GPG) rate, which measures the difference in hourly pay between males and females, was 10.6 per cent in 2014 at national level. This implies that male hourly rates were 10.6 per cent higher than those of females in Malta. The equivalent figure at EU level stood at 16.7 per cent.

In 2015, national unemployment rates were almost half those recorded at EU level. The NSO said that there is a convergence in the total unemployment rate for Malta between sexes. National and EU figures indicate that youths are more likely to be unemployed when compared to their older counterparts.

In 2015, the unemployment rates recorded in Malta for those aged between 15-24 and those aged between 25-74 were 11.8 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively.

Over a span of five years, the youth unemployment ratio dropped from 6.9 per cent to 6.1 per cent, whereas the estimate of youths not in employment or education (NEET rate) hovered around an average of 10.3 per cent. Moreover, the long-term unemployment rate recorded in Malta was almost half the rate recorded at EU level in 2015.

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