Job creation was happening at a “phenomenal” rate and was not being driven by public sector employment, the head of the government employment agency said.

Clyde Caruana, executive chairman at JobsPlus – formerly the Employment and Training Corporation – said official figures released this week showed how the private sector created more than 6,500 new full-time jobs in March, when compared to the same month last year.

“The increases in full-time employment are phenomenal and can be witnessed across all sectors apart from manufacturing and agriculture – but more significant is that public sector jobs increased by fewer than 300,” hesaid. The National Statistics Office figures show that public sector jobs accounted for 25 per cent of the workforce in the country, a drop of one percentage point despite the real increase.

There were 44,351 people with full-time jobs in the public sector in March with the main growth drivers being public administration (227) – which also includes the army and police – and education (150). There were also 117 jobs created in the health and social work sectors. These were offset by a reduction of 113 jobs classified as administrative and support services and another 100 in construction.

Figures released this week showed that the private sector created more than 6,500 new full-time
jobs in March

Mr Caruana said economic growth was creating jobs in the private sector: 132,000 full-time jobs, according to the NSO. Since March (the NSO figures relate to March), he added, the registered unemployed continued to fall. Unemployment in March stood at 4,033. “By the end of July, JobsPlus had some 3,300 people on the unemployment register; we are virtually at full employment,” he said.

Mr Caruana said JobsPlus was today getting more queries from employers rather than workers, reversing the situation experienced three years ago. “In most sectors demand for workers is exceeding supply, which is resulting in more foreigners being employed and more part-time jobs being created,” he said.

According to a survey conducted by JobsPlus with employers, their first option was to engage Maltese full-time workers, failing which they would then consider outsourcing as the next option.

“When outsourcing is not possible, employers told us they try to recruit foreigners and, if this is not successful, they split the job and engage part-timers,” Mr Caruana said. The NSO figures show that part-time jobs increased by 3,500 in the year to March. All sectors exhibited an increase in part-time employment apart from public administration. The biggest increases in part-time employment were registered in the hotels and restaurants sector, and retail.

Part-timers who had a full-time job in March amounted to 24,245, up by 6.5 per cent over 2015 figures. Employed people whose part-time job was their primary occupation totalled almost 35,000, which marks an increase of 6.2 per cent.

The majority who had a part-time job as their main occupation were women.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com

Where are jobs being created?

The services industry continues to confirm its importance as a job generator with gambling, accountancy and professional activities driving up demand.

NSO figures show that employment in the entertainment and arts sector increased by a whopping 26 per cent, driven mainly by jobs in the gambling and betting industry.

Professional activities, including legal and accounting services witnessed a job growth of 10 per cent in March when compared to the same period a year earlier. In the support services category, growth was driven by new jobs created in the security business.

Despite the building industry booming, full-time employment in the construction sector flat-lined, registering a slight decrease in March.

Manufacturing, a mainstay for employment with 20,620 jobs in March, continued its downward trend, shedding 128 jobs.

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