Inflation erodes wages forcing more to seek part-time job

The number of people working a part-time job on top of their full-time employment has increased by 9.4% over the past year. 

Figures published by the National Statistics Office show that 39,538 people held both a full-time and part-time job in March this year. This makes up 15% of total workers who are ‘gainfully occupied’. 

While this increase may be partially attributable to previously undeclared part-time work becoming official because of a more attractive tax rate – the part-time tax was cut to 10% - union leaders are worried that workers are feeling the need to supplement their ordinary income because of the higher cost of living.  

Josef Vella, CEO of the UĦM, a trade union, said workers are struggling to keep up with the cost of living. 

“Every day we hear workers telling us that they are not making ends meet at the end of the month and this situation is pushing people to look for secondary part-time work to boost their inadequate existing pay,” Vella said. 

Inflation is chipping away at wages, which are already low compared to EU levels, the UĦM CEO noted. 

“There are people working between 60 hours and 70 hours a week to boost their income and it is no wonder the statistics show an increase in part-time work among those already with a full-time job,” Vella said. 

GWU secretary general Josef Bugeja adopted a more nuanced approach, insisting that there may be many factors contributing to the 9.4% increase in full-time workers with a part-time job. 

“Economic stability, job flexibility, skills, undeclared work, or industry specific factors can all contribute to this increase. This could mean that businesses are experiencing increased demand but are hesitant to recruit full-time employees due to uncertainty or cost concerns,” Bugeja said. 

There is also the phenomenon of employees now declaring previously under the radar part-time jobs or professional employees supplementing their income by utilising their skills with different employers. 

“Remote work arrangements might also allow individuals to take on part-time positions without the need to commute, making such a prospect more attractive,” Bugeja said. 

But while acknowledging that these factors driven by a growing and recovering economy could have contributed to the higher part-time figures, Bugeja also mentioned the prospect of inflation forcing people to seek income from other sources. 

“What worries me though is if the increase is because employees are constrained to supplement their full-time job with a part-time job due to the increasing cost of living,” he said. 

Bugeja added that it is for this reason the GWU would never accept that employees are not given the cost-of-living adjustment without another national income policy agreement. 

The COLA is a statutory wage increase that kicks in every January and is based on the previous year’s inflation rate. In January 2023, wages increased by €9.90 per week in one of the highest increases in decades as inflation ran riot after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Employment continued to increase 

The NSO figures show that the number of persons who are self-employed on a full-time basis rose by 651 compared to March last year. The number of registered employees increased by 20,122. 

The number of registered full-time employees has continued to increase steadily since 2021. In March this year, registered full-time employment increased by 8.4% compared to the same month in 2022.  

This increase in employment was driven by growth in the administrative and support service sector, as well as the accommodation and food service industry.  

While registered full-time employment in the private sector increased by 10.7% persons, public sector full-time employment has decreased by 0.2%. 

Men still outnumber women in the labour force. The number of men in full-time employment went up by 8.9% and reached 162,762 workers. Meanwhile, the number of women in full-time employment increased by 7.7%, reaching 105,208. 

Overall part-time employment increased by 6.7%, driven by professional, scientific and technical activities followed by the transportation and storage sector. 

However, the number of people in part-time employment as a primary job increased by 3.6% over the same period. 

According to previous trends, the number of people working part-time as a primary job is expected to increase over the summer period, as students start searching for summer jobs. 

In the Budget 2022, the government had introduced a reduction in the tax rate on part-time income. 

At the time, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana estimated that around 23,000 workers would benefit from the measure.