One out of every five Maltese respondents to an EU-wide survey said they planned to work abroad in the coming years.
The figure soars to 41 per cent when respondents were presented with a hypothetical scenario of redundancy.
The Eurobarometer survey was carried out in Malta by Misco among a sample of 500 scientifically-selected individuals.
According to the survey, the most favourite destination among those wanting to move abroad is by far the UK (38 per cent) due to the know-ledge of the English language. Australia, a fertile ground for Maltese emigrants in the 1960s and 1970s, also features among the top destinations, preferred by 20 per cent of those who said they planned to work abroad.
When pressed to say when they were planning to take the plunge, 45 per cent replied they did not have any specific plans yet. Eleven per cent said they were planning to make the move in “less than six months’ time” and 15 per cent thought they would leave “within the next five years”.
Although Malta is among the 27 EU member states least affected by unemployment, the majority of those interviewed, 55 per cent, thought it would be easier to find a job. Only six per cent felt that job prospects abroad were worst.
One of the biggest attractions for those seeking an overseas job (27 per cent) is definitely money because they think they could “make more money” if they moved. The majority (38 per cent) cited “more opportunities” as the real reason behind their planned move.
The survey shows that, although the urge among the Maltese to spend at least as few years living and working abroad is increasing, so far they remain among the least in the EU with such an experience. In fact, while, on average, 13 per cent of EU citizens said they had spent time living, working or studying abroad, in Malta the figure stood at seven per cent, putting the Maltese in the same boat with Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Latvia.
On an EU level, the survey found that 17 per cent of Europeans envisaged working abroad in the future but the scenarios varied widely according to country, from 51 per cent in Denmark to just four per cent in Italy.
About 34 per cent of Europeans rate the chances of finding a job abroad better than at home. In fact, unemployment is a powerful reason to move, with 48 per cent of Europeans saying they would consider moving regions or countries for work if they lost their job.
At present, 2.3 per cent of people in the EU reside in a member state other than their own.