Jobless level stays below eurozone average

Malta has continued to register a positive trend in its job market with the number of those registering for work remaining static at 5.8 per cent for the third month in a row.

Eurostat, the EU statistical arm, said Malta's unemployment levels in February continued to be lower than the average in the euro area, which stood at 7.1 per cent.

Currently, Malta's unemployment levels are the lowest registered in the past decade. Only 12 months ago, Malta had an unemployment level of 6.6 per cent.

Over the past 12 months, the island has registered improvements across the board. The number of under 25-year-olds registering for work slipped to 11 per cent in February compared to 14 per cent in February last year. Female unemployment also went down to seven per cent from 7.9 per cent. Male unemployment dropped to 5.1 per cent from six per cent.

On a general level, Eurostat said that among the EU member states, the lowest unemployment rate was registered in the Netherlands (2.7 per cent) and the highest in Slovakia (9.9 per cent).

During the same month, the unemployment rate in the US was 4.8 per cent and it was nine per cent in Japan.