The seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate for December reached 4.5%, at par with the previous month, the National Statistics Office said.

There were 12,490 people on the unemployment register in December, with the majority being men. 

It said that the unemployment rate for males was 4.6% while that for females stood at 4.4% per cent.

The rate for persons aged 15 to 24 years was 11% while that for those aged between 25 and 74 years stood at 3.8%.

Unemployment last December was 0.9 percentage points higher than in December 2019, the NSO said. 

The NSO figures show that unemployment throughout last year peaked in September, when the rate reached 4.6%. It reached its lowest ebb in February, just before the COVID-19 pandemic reached Malta, when unemployment stood at 3.5%. 

Unemployment figures are based on a model which combines Jobsplus data with Labour Force Survey quarterly data, where people looking for a job but who have chosen not register with Jobsplus are also included.