Unemployment stable for third month in a row

Unemployment in Malta remained at a relatively low level when compared to the average in the euro area last May.

For the third consecutive month, Malta's unemployment rate stood at 6.2 per cent, unchanged since March.

Although also unchanged when compared to April, the average unemployment rate in the Euro area in May was more than three per cent higher than Malta's, at 9.9 per cent.

According to new figures issued by Eurostat last May, Malta had the fifth lowest unemployment figures among the 27 EU member states.

Compared to April, the only change noted was a slight increase in the number of Maltese females looking for work, which increased by 0.2 per cent to 6.5 per cent. On the other hand male unemployment and youth unemployment remained stable at 6.1 and 11.9 per cent, respectively.

In May, the highest unemployment in the EU was noted at Spain, 20.9 per cent while the lowest was at the Nederlands at just 4.2 per cent.