Over the last three months the National Statistics Office published various data on issues related to the labour market. Taken on their own, probably very little would emerge in terms of developments on the labour market. However, when all the data is put together one obtains a better understanding of these developments.
This is what I am seeking to do in this week's contribution, focusing on the unemployment issue. The picture that emerges is one which in my opinion is generally positive but some aspects give rise to justified concern.
One need only start with the number of registered unemployed people. This gives an indication of the amount of unutilised manpower we have in the country.
It needs to be stressed that unemployment costs a lot to the individual, because he or she is not earning an independent source of income, as well as a cost to the economy (the economy is foregoing what that person can produce) and to society (unemployment leads to a culture of idleness and all that goes with it).
Moreover, the number of persons registering as unemployed has always attracted a great deal of attention as it provides an indication of the ability of the economy to create jobs for those available for and willing to work and hence the government's ability to create an environment that is conducive to job creation.
Last May, the number of persons registering as unemployed on the two parts of the unemployment register was 7,245. The corresponding figure for May 2004 was 8,104. This represents a drop of 10.6 per cent.
Obviously, the figure does not include persons who are willing to work and are available for work but do not register with the Employment and Training Corporation. However, there is nothing to indicate that there could be more people this year than there were last year who are unwilling to register with the ETC.
The Labour Force Surveys show that the unemployment rate decreased from 7.9 per cent in December 2003 to 6.9 per cent in December 2004 and to 6.7 per cent in March 2005. This confirms the trend obtained from the unemployment register. The aspect worth of note that emerges is that, whereas male unemployment decreased, unemployment as a whole increased.
The Labour Force Surveys collects the data using a methodology that is different from that used by the Employment and Training Corporation and, therefore, the figures in absolute terms differ. However, the trend of lower unemployment was confirmed by the Labour Force Surveys.
The long-term unemployment rate has been established at two per cent in December 2004. It is at the level at which it has hovered in the last four years. However, those that have been registering on the first part of the unemployment register for more than 52 weeks made up 36 per cent of the total in May 2004, and in May 2005 they made up 43.6 per cent of the total.
The indication is that, unless an unemployed person moves into gainful employment within a few months, he is likely to stay unemployed for a long time. This emphasises the point made earlier on that unemployment is a cost to society because it leads to a culture of idleness.
The issue becomes even more acute when there are jobless households, that is, households where no one is working. The number of persons living in jobless households increased from 11.1 per cent in December 2003 to 11.6 per cent in December 2004. The fact that the number of females living in jobless households has increased while the number of males has decreased would indicate a link between joblessness and social issues such as single-parent families.
The age split-up shows that in May this year persons aged under 25 years represented 25.6 per cent of all those registering on Part 1 of the unemployment register, while the corresponding figure in May 2004 was 27 per cent. This may be relatively good news for younger people.
On the other hand, persons aged 45 years or more represented 29.8 per cent of all those registering on Part 1 of the unemployment register compared with 28.7 per cent last year. The unemployment rate of persons aged 45 years or more was established at 4.2 per cent in December 2004.
The good news is certainly that unemployment is decreasing year on year. This indicates a positive performance of the Maltese economy.
However, the data also shows that there are certain niches that are at a greater risk than others. Older persons and females are two such niches. The issue needs to be addressed because our average participation rate in the labour market is well below that obtained in other EU member states and the only way that the participation rate can be increased is by having more women and more older persons working. Female employment is increasing but at present it seems that the economy cannot absorb all females available for and willing to work.