Depressed unemployed in times of boom
One of the main themes in the weeks leading up to the general election will be unemployment and job creation. Already, the Nationalists are looking back and saying that many jobs have been created over the past four years and that unemployment has...
One of the main themes in the weeks leading up to the general election will be unemployment and job creation. Already, the Nationalists are looking back and saying that many jobs have been created over the past four years and that unemployment has fallen drastically. Labour are looking ahead and saying that 2,000 jobs will be created early on in their tenure, should they be elected.
The National Statistics Office has provided the backcloth to the debate that will be taking place. Two weeks ago it published a release on the registered unemployed, as of December 2007.
The release said that in December 2007 the overall number of registered unemployed stood at 6,172, a decrease of 989 when compared to the same month in 2006.
In Malta, the registered number of unemployed persons amounted to 5,466. The figure for Gozo stood at 706. Both islands experienced a decline in the registered unemployed over the 12 months to December, by 971 in Malta and 18 in Gozo. Over the 12 months the duration of unemployment also diminished.
The release also gave the usual information about the occupations being sought by the unemployed in December 2007. Among men, occupations related to elementary duties (a euphemism for unskilled) and machine operators were the most common jobs sought. Females tended to seek clerical and service-oriented jobs.
As for the unemployment rate, the NSO release, which depends on the Employment and Training Corporation for employment figures, could only give it up to August, when it stood at 4.4 per cent of the labour supply. On a gender basis the unemployment rate for men stood at 4.8 per cent. For women it stood at 3.6 per cent.
There is no doubt that there have been improvements in both relative and absolute terms in the registered unemployment picture, counterpointed by the data on the gainfully occupied population, which has increased at a brisk pace. While recognising that, it is my practice to look at the absolute figures to try to understand the social situation and its economic implications. In that regard, there is still a lot of work to be done.
Age is a shaping factor in trying to find employment. In December there were 1,899 persons who were 45 years old or over registering for employment. Despite the experience they are likely to have accumulated in their working lifetime, this group finds it very hard to find employment and is likely to have been registering longest.
There were 1,789 other persons registering for a job who were between 30 and 44, on part one of the unemployment register. On the second part there were a further 184 persons aged between 30 and 44 out of a job, plus 170 others aged 45 or over. In all the cases mentioned, the bulk of those on the unemployment register were males.
Combining the two parts of the register one finds 3,042 persons aged 30 and over registering for employment, of whom more than half were over 45.
The NSO does not give a link between those registering for employment by age distribution and by duration of registration. It does record, however, that 1,004 of those registering on part one had been doing so for between 21 and 52 weeks in December. More than twice as many - 2,257 - had been out of a job for 53 weeks and over.
When one looks at the occupations sought by those registering for employment one finds that just under a sixth were unskilled and sought elementary jobs. These are the hardest to employ as well as the most susceptible to competition from a substantial chunk of immigrant labour.
The same picture emerges from the NSO's breakdown of those registering on part two of the unemployment records.
The NSO's media release also shows that last December there were 274 disabled persons - 210 males, 64 females - registering as unemployed.
This outline of the unemployment situation shows that, despite the expanding economy and its resilience, allowing it to absorb redundant workers fairly quickly, there remain thousands of workers who are unlikely to find a job soon, or at all. Among them there are disabled workers who, though they are at their lowest count for a number of years, could not be absorbed by our expanding economy.
It will be interesting to see what sort of focus they are given as our politicians go at one another hammer and tongs.
The National Statistics Office has provided the backcloth to the debate that will be taking place. Two weeks ago it published a release on the registered unemployed, as of December 2007.
The release said that in December 2007 the overall number of registered unemployed stood at 6,172, a decrease of 989 when compared to the same month in 2006.
In Malta, the registered number of unemployed persons amounted to 5,466. The figure for Gozo stood at 706. Both islands experienced a decline in the registered unemployed over the 12 months to December, by 971 in Malta and 18 in Gozo. Over the 12 months the duration of unemployment also diminished.
The release also gave the usual information about the occupations being sought by the unemployed in December 2007. Among men, occupations related to elementary duties (a euphemism for unskilled) and machine operators were the most common jobs sought. Females tended to seek clerical and service-oriented jobs.
As for the unemployment rate, the NSO release, which depends on the Employment and Training Corporation for employment figures, could only give it up to August, when it stood at 4.4 per cent of the labour supply. On a gender basis the unemployment rate for men stood at 4.8 per cent. For women it stood at 3.6 per cent.
There is no doubt that there have been improvements in both relative and absolute terms in the registered unemployment picture, counterpointed by the data on the gainfully occupied population, which has increased at a brisk pace. While recognising that, it is my practice to look at the absolute figures to try to understand the social situation and its economic implications. In that regard, there is still a lot of work to be done.
Age is a shaping factor in trying to find employment. In December there were 1,899 persons who were 45 years old or over registering for employment. Despite the experience they are likely to have accumulated in their working lifetime, this group finds it very hard to find employment and is likely to have been registering longest.
There were 1,789 other persons registering for a job who were between 30 and 44, on part one of the unemployment register. On the second part there were a further 184 persons aged between 30 and 44 out of a job, plus 170 others aged 45 or over. In all the cases mentioned, the bulk of those on the unemployment register were males.
Combining the two parts of the register one finds 3,042 persons aged 30 and over registering for employment, of whom more than half were over 45.
The NSO does not give a link between those registering for employment by age distribution and by duration of registration. It does record, however, that 1,004 of those registering on part one had been doing so for between 21 and 52 weeks in December. More than twice as many - 2,257 - had been out of a job for 53 weeks and over.
When one looks at the occupations sought by those registering for employment one finds that just under a sixth were unskilled and sought elementary jobs. These are the hardest to employ as well as the most susceptible to competition from a substantial chunk of immigrant labour.
The same picture emerges from the NSO's breakdown of those registering on part two of the unemployment records.
The NSO's media release also shows that last December there were 274 disabled persons - 210 males, 64 females - registering as unemployed.
This outline of the unemployment situation shows that, despite the expanding economy and its resilience, allowing it to absorb redundant workers fairly quickly, there remain thousands of workers who are unlikely to find a job soon, or at all. Among them there are disabled workers who, though they are at their lowest count for a number of years, could not be absorbed by our expanding economy.
It will be interesting to see what sort of focus they are given as our politicians go at one another hammer and tongs.