There is no end to the political waffle that keeps obfuscating the picture about the real employment situation. Controversy over the creation, or non-creation, of jobs usually surface at local or general election times but it has now become an ongoing debate, with the two main parties finding themselves interminably at odds over the interpretation of the figures given by the National Statistics Office.

No attempt is made at drawing a rational analysis so that the country will know exactly where it stands.

The government speaks of “historical lows” in the unemployment rate and attributes much of the success to measures it has taken over the past two-and-a-half years to promote greater economic growth, encourage women to join the labour force and, generally, make work pay. On the other hand, the Nationalist Party in Opposition says it is not impressed, arguing the government is inflating the figure through greater employment in the public sector.

So, what is the correct picture? The government insists the unemployment rate dropped from 6.4 per cent in 2013 to 5.9 per cent last year, the lowest in the EU. The share of the private and public sector in full-time employment “remained relatively stable” at 73.6 per cent and 26.4 per cent respectively. This means, the government notes, that for every four jobs in the economy, three were in the private sector and one in the public sector. However, employment in the public sector has risen to 44,059, an increase of 2,552 since March 2013.

Apart from this, the administration took on 3,000 to replace those who had retired from the service. This brings the total rise in the public service to a staggering 5,552. Since the government argues that the figure includes those recruited in education and health services, it is time for the administration to say exactly how many people were employed in these sectors since 2013.

However, even when taking this into consideration, it is clear that there has been an unnecessary expansion of the public sector. Why, for example, should the government be responsible for creating one out of every four jobs in the economy when the public service ought to become leaner, not bigger?

The government camouflages the issue by arguing that the share of the public sector in full-time employment has remained stable, making it sound as if it has become an absolute economic requirement to keep such a share. By this reasoning, the public sector is set to expand even further. This is absurd, more so when so many government services are today provided online.

Leaving aside workers in education and health services, where has the government employed the rest? No wonder the outlay on personal emoluments has soared by €22.7 million.

The Opposition is right in raising the issue, for, although the economy is doing well, it is unwise to overload the public sector with unnecessary jobs.

It is interesting, too, that half the number of jobs created today are being taken up by people from the rest of the EU (since Malta belongs to the Union, these should not be considered foreigners).

The employment pattern evolving today is found in other European Union member states but this and the other problem – skill mismatch – should not overshadow the need to rationally discuss what ought to be the employment strength of the public service.

Since it is the taxpayer that ultimately foots the bill for jobs in the public service, there ought to be keener pressure for greater accountability.