Registered full-time employment increased by 3.3 per cent in February compared with the same month last year, part-time primary jobs by 5.8 per cent, according to the National Statistics Office.

The NSO said administrative data provided by the Employment and Training Corporation showed that over a year, the labour supply (excluding part-timers) increased by 3.4 per cent, to reach 168,288.

This was mainly attributed to increases in the full-time gainfully occupied population (+5,123) and in registered unemployment (+474).

The number of persons registered as full-time self-employed rose by 353 when compared with February last year, while the number of persons registered as employees increased by 4,770.

Male and female full-time employment went up by 2.1 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively, over 2013 levels.

In a statement in the afternoon, the government welcomed the statistics.

MORE THAN 1,800 EMPLOYED IN CIVIL SERVICE - PN SPOKESMAN

In another statement PN finance spokesman Tonion Fenech said close to 1,800 people were taken on in the civil service in the past 12 months, more than a third of full time jobs created in the same period

Mr Fenech said this placed a bigger burden on the country and led it to remain under the EU’s excessive deficit procedures.

He said that the government was hiding the growing unemployment problem by employing more people and added that a substantial part of the gainfully employed worked part time.