(Adds PN's reply)

Malta had the second lowest unemployment rate in Europe as a result of the decisions the government was taking, PL deputy leader Toni Abela said this afternoon.

Addressing a news conference, Dr Abela said that Malta also had the second lowest rate of youth unemployment and employment growth was three times more than in the previous legislature.

This was all due to the government’s decisions including lower water and electricity tariffs and the introduction of a number of measures including childcare centres, the Breakfast Club and Klabb 316, which led to a six per cent increase in the number of women who returned to the employment market.

He also said that eight out of 10 jobs created were in the private sector.

In a reply, the Nationalist Party said that in spite of a drop in the number of unemployed, the truth was that this had gone down because in two years the Labour government had employed 5,500 people in the civil service.

This was the equivalent of 230 people a month. Moreover, half of the new jobs being created with the private sector were being taken up by foreigners because the wages were low.

This showed that although figures might look good, the Maltese workers were not feeling the impact.