Clerk: The most common female occupation

Under a third of Malta's women were in employment in November 2005, when the last census of population was carried out, and a fifth of them worked as clerks, the most common occupation among females.

According to the census results, 153,483 persons, or 45.8 per cent of the population aged 15 and over, were employed. Another 11,183, or 3.3 per cent, were unemployed with the remaining 170,810 persons, or 50.9 per cent, falling into the category of inactive.

The male employment rate was 63 per cent while the female rate was 29 per cent.

The lowest employment rate was recorded in Gozo and Comino, with 40.6 per cent. The highest was recorded in the Northern District where 49.6 per cent of persons in this age bracket were employed.

On the basis of age, the highest employment rate was registered among the younger segment of the population, those between 20 and 29 years. In this age group, 73 per cent of persons were employed, 5.7 per cent unemployed and 21.3 per cent inactive.

There were significant differences between the sexes in terms of occupation and economic activity. The most common occupation among women was that of clerk, with 10,675 females, or 21.6 per cent of employed females, stating they were employed in this sector. The biggest proportion of men, on the other hand, worked in craft and related trades, this sector accounting for 20,434 males, or 19.6 per cent of employed males.

The manufacturing sector and the wholesale and retail trade sector respectively employed 17.1 per cent and 15.9 per cent of the working population with most workers in both sectors being men.

The education sector had a high concentration of females, accounting for 17 per cent of the total female working population.

On average, people in employment worked 40 hours a week in their main occupation, with males reporting an average of 42.1 hours and females an average of 35.5 hours.

Males employed as skilled agricultural and fishery workers worked the maximum number of hours on average, a weekly 47.2 hours.

On average, the least number of hours worked were recorded among females engaged in elementary occupations - 32.9 hours per week.