Full-time employment in March increased by 3.6 per cent when compared to the corresponding month in 2013, while registered part-time employment as a primary job rose by 6.3 per cent. Unemployment was up by 294.

The National Statistics Office said the  full-time gainfully occupied population grew by 5,549.

The jobs growth was mainly in public administration and defence and support services . The increases were partly offset by drops in employment in construction.

Registered full-time employment in the private sector went up by 3.2 per cent, while that within the public sector increased by 4.5 per cent.

A government spokesman explained that the increase in public sector jobs included 725 workers previously employed by Arriva who would return to the private sector once a new bus service operator was engaged. Once that number was excluded, the rise in public sector jobs was 2.8%.  750 workers were employed in crucial sectors in health and education, the spokesman added.

Self employed persons

The number of persons registered as full-time self-employed rose by 433 when compared to March last year. Male and female full-time employment went up by 2.5 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively over 2013 levels.

Registered Part-Time Employment

Registered part-time employment for March went up by 5.7 per cent when compared to last year. The sectors that contributed mostly to the total increase were accommodation and food service activities followed by wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicle.

In March, the number of part-timers who also held a full-time job amounted to 24,298, up by 4.8 per cent when compared to the corresponding month last year. Employed persons whose part-time job was their primary occupation totalled 33,559, up by 6.3 per cent, or 1,979 persons, when compared to 2013 levels.

Biggest increase since the mid-1990s

The government said the growth of 3.5 per cent in the number of full time jobs was the biggest since the mid-1990s.

It observed that the number of full-timers had increased by 5,500 since March 2014, or 14 new jobs a day compared to six full time jobs a day under the previous government.

The government noted the increase in jobs in manufacturing industry after a decline of 1,500 under the previous administration. Jobs under this government had also increased in hotels and catering, administration and IT, wholesale and retail and Gozo, the island seeing full time jobs growth of 7%.

Government increasing jobs in civil service

In a statement, the Nationalist Party said the NSO figures confirmed that the Labour government was trying to hide unemployment by employing more people in the civil service.

In fact, a total of 1,900 people were employed between March last year and last March.

 

 

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