Public sector jobs: where is the increase?

We have collected the data from the National Statistics Office to see which categories of work have seen an increase in jobs in the public sector.

As the data shows, public sector jobs grew from 41,507 in March 2013 – when Labour was elected – to 43,939.

A reclassification of 3,000-odd construction employees – those from the resources and infrastructure – were reclassified into public administration and other categories, signifying their inclusion into other ministries.

The greatest increase was in public administration, with 3,593 jobs.

The total public workforce growth was of 2,432 since March 2013.

However, the Nationalist Party says the Labour government had committed itself to reduce the public workforce by not replacing 500 of some 1,500 workers retiring every year.

On their calculations, at least 2,000 should have retired since March 2013, which is why they contend that public sector jobs have increased by over 4,400.

Labour says that over 900 jobs in transportation reflect the intake of Arriva Malta employees since the nationalisation of public transport, and that these will revert to a new private company.

The government also says that the replacement rate was never applicable to education and health workers, which increased by 900 since March 2013.

Graph shows job category ranked by size of growth since March 2013, and then its levels for June 2014, March 2014, and March 2013