'Constant decline' in jobless figure

Malta's unemployment rate in October stood at 7.7 per cent, the same level as a year earlier and 0.1 per cent less than a month earlier, according to figures published yesterday by Eurostat, the EU's statistical arm.

On a yearly basis, Malta's unemployment levels reached their highest peak in April when the jobless rate measured 8.3 per cent. Since then, Malta's unemployment figures have been on a constant decline, Eurostat said.

Its unemployment rate is almost one per cent lower than the EU average of 8.5 per cent, which in turn is 0.5 percentage points lower than the figure of a year earlier.

The lowest rates of unemployment in October were registered in Ireland (4.3 per cent), the UK (4.6 per cent) and Denmark (4.7 per cent) while Poland (17.6 per cent), Slovakia (16.2 per cent) and Greece (9.9 per cent) registered the highest.

The US unemployment rate in October was five per cent and the Japanese 4.5 per cent.