Official data on the gainfully occupied population confirmed that the private sector continued to be the driving force behind the creation of jobs and robust economic growth, the Finance Ministry said.

"Out of a total of 9,900 new jobs created last year, 8,690 were generated by the private sector. This means that out of every 10 new jobs created, around 9 were generated by the private sector while only one was in the public sector," it said. 

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said such figures continued to confirm the government’s belief in the private sector as the sector which could truly sustain long-term economic growth.

The employment trend in recent years has led to a decline in the share of public sector employment from around 30 per cent in 2011 to 23.8 per cent in 2017, the ministry added. 

The growth in private sector employment was broad-based as most sectors recorded increases. The highest increases were recorded in administrative and support service, the arts, entertainment and recreation and the professional, scientific and technical activities sectors. Other notable increases were recorded in the accommodation and food service activities reflecting the remarkable developments in the tourism sector as well as in the financial and insurance activities, transportation and storage and manufacturing.

Prof Scicluna said the government remained determined to continue with the trend which leads effectively to a reduction in the tax burden for Malta’s taxpayers.