Gozo jobless 'up 22 per cent'

Unemployment in Gozo rose by 22 per cent in the year up to November, Labour leader Alfred Sant said yesterday.

Addressing the media in front of MP Clothing, in Xewkija, he said that according to the latest figures issued by the Employment and Training Corporation, there were 606 people registering for employment in Gozo in November, an increase of 110 over the previous year.

Dr Sant said the figures also showed that the number of unemployed Gozitans under 30 years now made up 55 per cent of the jobless, up from 29 per cent.

The problem was that factories in Gozo were closing down and they were not being replaced by new ones. This was because new factories were not being offered the right incentives to set up office on the islands, he said.

The project for an industrial zone for the self-employed at Ta' Xhajma had fallen behind and there was a lack of interest in the crafts sector.

An industrial regeneration plan was required in Gozo as well as in Malta and a policy which considered Gozo a region should start to be implemented, Dr Sant said.

He proposed that statistics for Gozo be collated separately for the implementation of new developments according to the needs and realities of the island.