Employment and surplus both rise as the year comes to a close

Total employment in the third quarter of the year has reached 68%, the highest rate ever registered in the period, the National Statistics Office said.

The Labour Force Survey for the third quarter of the year has indicated an increase of 3.1% in employment when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2016.
While total employment reached a numbered 200,636, accounting to more than half the population aged 15 and over, unemployment stood at 2.3%, while inactive persons totaled to 43.5%.

Among the unemployed, 57.9% stated that they had been seeking work for less than 12 months, while the main reason for inactivity relates to persons reaching retirement age or taking up early retirement.

The highest rate of employment recorded was among persons aged 25-54.

Employment by age groups and sex according to NSO Labour Force Survey (Photo: NSO)

The average annual basic salary of employees for the third quarter of 2017 was estimated at €17,858. The highest basic salary was recorded in the Financial and Insurance Service sector

 Across all occupations, average annual salaries varied from €29,111 among managers to €12,178 among persons employed in elementary occupations.

There was a distinct increase in employed women at 56%, which stood at 45% in 2013

“While the opposition sustains that minimum wage is decreasing, official statistics show that it has increased by 12% since the changing of government,” An official government statement said. 

“In the coming months, the government will continue introducing measures to create better conditions in the workplace. These measures will include a rise in minimum wage, and tax refund for workers, as well as an additional leave.”

Surplus continues to rise

January – November consolidated fund surplus/deficit (Photo:NSO)

The consolidated fund balance rose to €85 million in the first eleven months of this year, the NSO said.

According to the latest release, this represents an improvement of €145 million, turning a deficit of €60 million in the period January to November of last year to a surplus this year.

The consistent improvement in the consolidated fund balance was the result of an increase in revenue of €421 million which outweighed the contained increase in total expenditure of €277 million.

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna commented positively about the latest results. "We have continued to register consistent improvements in the consolidated fund balance over an already successful year while our fiscal performance remains better than projections. Thus, I am confident that we will attain a surplus in accrual terms for the second consecutive year."

The contained increase in government expenditure came at no expense to investment since capital expenditure still increased during the same period.

Scicluna said that all tax revenue categories continued to record remarkable increases with the highest increases recorded in revenue from income tax and VAT. The increase in both the direct and indirect tax revenues reflect the strong growth in jobs, take-home pay, and private consumption.

These developments continued to have a positive impact on debt developments as gross debt decreased by €123 million in November of this year, over the same month last year. As a result, the interest component of public debt servicing costs declined to €197 million, down from €206 million recorded last year.