Utility bills emerge as top concern for Maltese

Survey results have shown that the populations' concern on the cost of living has been surpassed by concerns on utility bills, now emerging as the top worry of the Maltese. National concern on the increasing energy bill had already shot up from 17% in June 2008, when the surcharge was still in place, to 33% in 2009 following the introduction of the new tariff system.

Following the compensation given in the latest tariff increase, the number of those who consider utility bills as one of their two top concerns has declined from 50% to 46% since last March. But despite this small decrease, concern about utility bills has overtaken the cost of living as the major national concern.

On the other hand, concerns about the cost of living has reached an all-time low of 41% down 10% since March and 27% since 2009, possibly reflecting a drop in prices in the past months. Unskilled workers and the unemployed are most concerned about cost of living.

On the contrary, clerical and vocational workers and skilled workers rate utility bills as their greatest concern, suggesting that the middle-class is most weighed down by the issue, as it does not benefit from state aid since it is directed towards the lowest income groups.

Concern on low wages has also reached an all time high, of 11.4% up from 7% in March, predominantly among managerial and professional groups, possibly reflecting increased dissatisfaction with Maltese wages when compared to European ones.

The number of respondents who consider immigration as one of their two main concerns has dropped sharply from 27% in March 2009, to less than 3% now. This coincides with a dramatic drop in arrivals following an agreement between Italy and Libya which saw forced repatriation of migrants in the Mediterranean. This suggests that immigration concerns fluctuate according to immigrant landings.

Environment concerns have remained stable at 6.1%, while health remains primarily a concern of pensioners and lower-income groups.

Divorce has earned a place among the top 10 concerns of the Maltese people for the very first time. 57% of those who mentioned divorce as one of their two top concerns are opposed to its introduction.

Another new concern is that of the reliability of electricity supply, which concerns 3% of respondents, following a number of major power cuts in the past few months.

Despite the prominence of corruption cases in the media only 1.2% mentioned corruption as one of their two top concerns.