Official figures unmasked the government’s claim that 20,000 jobs were generated over the past four years, Labour deputy leader Anġlu Farrugia said.

He accused the government of deceit, adding that the National Statistics Office showed that 9,922 full and part-time jobs were generated.

“These amount to less than half the numbers quoted by GonziPN,” Dr Farrugia said,adding that only a third of the jobs were on a full-time basis.

Moreover, for more than half of the 6,646 people engaged in part-time work, this was their only job, he said.