An EU agency, the European Centre for Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), forecasts that the working age population in Malta will grow by about 5.5 per cent between now and 2025. But the overall participation rate will remain the same at around 50 per cent, lower than the EU forecast average of 55.5 per cent.
The biggest increase in the labour force will be in the group aged between 30 and 49, while the proportion of those aged 50 to 64 is projected to fall.
Cedefop also forecast that job opportunities would mostly come from the replacement of those who retire or leave the workforce, rather than from newly created jobs. The agency said this demand would be the result of trends in occupational mobility and a slowly ageing workforce.