Unemployment up again

Malta has registered an increase in its unemployment figures for the 12th consecutive month, according to new data published yesterday by the European Union.

Malta's unemployment levels last March stood at 8.1 per cent, slightly up from February, but almost one percentage point higher than 12 months earlier. According to Eurostat, the rise in the number of jobless in Malta over the past 12 months was the highest, in relative terms, among the 25 EU member states, rising from 7.2 per cent in March 2005 to 8.1 per cent in March this year.

Eurostat data shows that, on average, unemployment levels in the EU 25 dropped over the last year, down from 8.9 per cent to 8.4 per cent.

In March, the lowest rates were registered in the Netherlands (four per cent), Ireland (4.2 per cent), Denmark (4.3 per cent), Luxembourg (4.8 per cent) and the United Kingdom (five per cent in January). Poland (16.8 per cent), Slovakia (15.7 per cent), Greece (9.6 per cent in the fourth quarter 2005) and France (9.1 per cent) had the highest rates.

Eurostat said that among the member states, 17 recorded a decrease in their unemployment rate over a year, one remained stable and six reported an increase.

The largest relative drops were observed in Estonia (8.8 per cent to 5.3 per cent), Lithuania (9.2 per cent to 6.4 per cent), Denmark (5.4 per cent to 4.3 per cent), the Netherlands (4.9 per cent to four per cent), and Latvia (9.1 per cent to 7.6 per cent).

Apart from Malta, the highest relative increases were registered in Luxembourg (4.3 per cent to 4.8 per cent), Hungary (6.8 per cent to 7.4 per cent), the United Kingdom (4.7 per cent in January 2005 to five per cent in January 2006), and Portugal (7.4 per cent to 7.6 per cent).

Eurostat estimates that the unemployed across the EU last March numbered 18.2 million.