Unemployment in January totalled 7,789, an increase of 646 compared to January of the previous year, the NSO said this morning.

The number of those registering for work aged 45 and over went up by 6.7 per cent, to 3,183, but increases were recorded among all age-groups.

When compared to January 2013, an increase of 592 persons was recorded among those who had been registering for more than one year. On the other hand, the number of persons who had been registered unemployed for less than 21 weeks declined by 36.

The number of persons with disability registering for work numbered 547, decreasing by 0.7 per cent over 2013, of whom 83.2 per cent were men. Most sought occupations in crafts and related trades.

PN CONCERN

The Nationalist Party said said this 8% increase in unemployment cast further serious doubts about the government's ability to create jobs. 

The party noted that there had been a 22% increase among those who had been seeking a job for more than a year, confirming that this was not a temporary problem but a structural one.
It was also of concern that unemployment was rising in Malta while it was decreasing in the other EU countries, the PN said.
The party insisted that the government should acknowledge that it had a problem and not try to twist facts in an effort to hide it.