Halt in rising jobless rate

The rising unemployment rate registered in the 12 months since the start of the recession was reversed slightly for the first time in August.

Eurostat yesterday said Malta's unemployment rate in August registered a drop of 0.1 per cent and stood at 7.2 per cent when compared to July's 7.3 per cent; the highest in the preceding 12 months.

"This is a positive sign as it signifies a reverse trend although it is still too early to say whether this is the start of a new trend," a Eurostat official said.

The drop was noted across all three main categories of employment.

The highest decrease was registered among under-25s with those looking for a job in August dropping to 15 per cent from 15.4 per cent in the previous month.

Women job-seekers decreased by 0.2 per cent from 8.2 per cent in July and the number of males seeking work dropped by a slight 0.1 per cent. Malta's statistics diverge from the rest of the eurozone where unemployment continued its steep rise, hitting an all-time high of 9.6 per cent.

In August, average unemployment in the 16-member eurozone increased by a further 0.1 per cent. Eurostat said that, among the member states in the euro area, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Netherlands (3.5 per cent) and Austria (4.7 per cent) while Spain had the highest rate at 18.9 per cent.