The Nationalist Party has urged the government to heed signs of problems in the economy.

In a statement, it said that while the Maltese economy was healthy when compared to competing countries, some signs should not be ignored.

They included the increase in unemployment, a drop in retail trade, a repeated drop in industrial production and a drop in imports and exports.

The party noted that imports had dropped by 9%, or €700 million over the previous year, meaning reduced consumption by families and lower purchases of raw materials by industry.

Exports were down 13 per cent, or €600 million. When one eliminated re-exports of petroleum products, exports were down by 7.5 per cent, which showed a drastic reduction in industrial activity on which thousands of jobs depended.