Illegal employment of foreign workers this year has outnumbered cases involving Maltese nationals, according to official data covering the period from 2012 to last May.

During the first five months of this year, inspectors flagged 887 cases involving foreigners, including 108 Filipinos. On the other hand, the number of irregularities related to Maltese workers between January and May 2016 was significantly lower at 741.

Employment and Training Corporation chairman Clyde Caruana believes that this shift confirms the ever-increasing challenge faced by employers in certain sectors to engage Maltese workers.

“This year’s numbers indicate that the Maltese labour supply is almost exhausted,” Mr Caruana said when asked for his reaction by the Times of Malta.

“Last year, two-thirds of the net employment increase was made up of foreigners. These foreign workers are necessary to meet our economy’s requirements,” added.

Since 2012, there has been a constant drop in the numbers of Maltese workers found in illegal employment compared with an opposing steady increase in cases involving foreigners.

According to the data tabled in Parliament by Education and Employment Minister Evarist Bartolo, in 2012 just 735 foreign nationals were found in illegal employment, while the number of corresponding cases involving Maltese workers was almost treble at 1,992. The information was given in reply to a Parliamentary Question by Labour MP Anthony Agius Decelis.

This year’s numbers indicate that the Maltese labour supply is almost exhausted

In total between January 2012 and last May, the number of irregular workers flagged by the employment watchdog was 11,996 persons, 4,294 of whom were foreigners hailing from 110 countries. There were 22 cases in which the worker’s nationality could not be determined and so they were listed as coming from “unknown countries”.

In total, EU citizens comprised 57 per cent of the total foreign workforce found in irregular employment.

Overall, Italy topped the list with 644 cases, followed by Bulgarians (341), British (327) and Hungarians (203). Six Danes, seven Finns and seven Austrians joined the Cypriots at the other end.

A closer analysis of the data for the first five months of 2016, reveals that there has been a spike in the number of cases of Filipinos which increased from 23 during an entire four-year period between 2012 and 2015, to 108 cases this year.

One national from each of these countries was found to be working illegally during the period under review: Azerbaijan (2014), Chad (2016), Indonesia (2016), Iran (2016), Kazakhstan (2012), Mexico (2014), Mongolia (2012), Panama (2014), Peru (2013), Republic of Korea (2012), Tanzania (2012); Tonga (2016), Uzbekistan (2013) and former Yugoslavia (2014).

Local social changes and international developments are also mirrored in this data.

The Syrian conflict is reflected in the 36 nationals from this war-torn country working illegally in Malta this year. The number is a significant increase compared to the 20 flagged in 2015 and just 12 cases between 2012 and 2014.

Illegal employment in Malta: Top nationalities*