The average gross wage of Maltese employees stood at €15,730 annually until last June, up €250 over the previous 12 months, according to the latest Labour Force Survey published yesterday.

The highest paid employees were in the financial and insurance sectors, with a gross annual salary of €22,299, while the lowest paid were those working in the wholesale and retail trade, transportation and storage, accommodation and food service activities.

The average wage is calculated on basic salaries and does not include any overtime or other allowances.

According to the survey, which is carried out every quarter on a sample of 3,200 private households, nearly 86 per cent of the total workforce are working for other people as opposed to being self-employed.

Malta still has one of the lowest employment rates in the EU, with nearly 40 per cent of the population still inactive

The data shows that in the second quarter of this year, employment was estimated to have increased by three per cent when compared to the corresponding period last year.

However, with an employment rate of just 61 per cent, Malta still has one of the lowest rates in the EU, with nearly 40 per cent of the population still inactive.

The unemployment rate for the period under review was estimated at 6.7 per cent, with 41 per cent of those looking for a job stating they had been seeking work for more than a year.

The activity rate varied from 50 per cent among women to 79 per cent among men.

The Nationalist Party said official figures confirmed that not enough jobs were being created for the number of people just entering the labour market or who had lost their positions.

The Government needed a job-creation plan, the party insisted.