Malta with lowest usage of childcare services in the EU

Families in Malta are the least likely in Europe to use childcare services for all their children, Eurostat data reveals

Malta is among top five EU countries where parents make their own arrangements to care for their children
Malta is among top five EU countries where parents make their own arrangements to care for their children

Only 11.5% of Maltese with children reported using childcare services for all their children, the lowest in the EU, figures out today show.

The numbers released by Eurostat, the EU statistics agency, show that 88.5% of people with children either did not use childcare services or only use them for some of their children.

The statistics refer to children up to the age of 14, and childcare services in Malta would typically mean pre-school childcare facilities and afterschool services such as Klabb 3-16.

A breakdown of those who do not use childcare services, shows that 60.2% make their own arrangements or with their partner, to care for their children. This places Malta among the top five EU countries where parents make their own arrangements.

This figure can be interpreted in light of another statistic that shows how 50% of women, and just over 20% of men, with childcare responsibilities in Malta have adapted their work to facilitate childcare.

Malta places sixth among the EU 28, for the share of parents, who have adapted their work to facilitate childcare. Adapted work includes a reduction of working time, a change in job or employer, and family leave.

Malta introduced universal free childcare for working parents in 2014, a measure widely acclaimed as having helped boost the female participation rate in the workforce.

The Labour Force Survey released last month showed that by June 2019, the female participation rate in the workforce stood at 64.6%, an increase of more than three points over the same period last year.

However, the figures also showed that a large proportion of women had a part-time job as their main activity.

READ ALSO: Malta has highest increase in children in childcare across EU