Malta last year registered the second highest employment growth rate among the 17 member states of the eurozone, according to data recently published in Brussels.

Eurostat said that in 2011 Malta reported an employment growth rate of 2.3 per cent, well above the 0.2 per cent average. The rise in the number of gainfully occupied was only surpassed by Estonia, which saw its employment rate boom by 6.9 percentage points. However, Malta also registered a higher than average hourly labour cost rate, which could pose risks to competitiveness.

The total nominal hourly labour costs rose by four per cent between the last quarters of 2010 and 2011, far higher than the eurozone’s 2.8 per cent average growth.

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