Malta registers 1% drop in unemployment

The number of people registering for work in Malta decreased significantly by one per cent during the last year according to statistics published yesterday by Eurostat, the EU's statistical arm.

In October 2004, the rate of unemployment in Malta stood at seven per cent, a one per cent decrease when compared to October 2003, when the registered unemployed amounted to eight per cent.

The result is even more significant when compared to the overall unemployment average of the EU which now stands at 8.9 per cent, a slight decrease of 0.2 per cent when compared to October 2003.

Out of the 25 member states of the EU, Malta stands at the 12th position with regards to unemployment rates.

Luxembourg has the lowest rate of unemployment, 4.3 per cent, while Poland remains with a high rate of people without work, its figures reaching 18.6 per cent.

In October 2004, the unemployment rate in the United States was 5.5 per cent, while in Japan, the number of people without work reach 4.7 per cent.

Malta also registered progress in its economic performance. Eurostat said that in the third quarter of this year, the Maltese economy registered a growth rate in GDP terms of 1.4 per cent when compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Although this is not a very high GDP rate, it compares very well with a decrease in GDP of 1.6 per cent registered in the second quarter of this year when compared to the same period in 2003.

The average increase for the third quarter in the 25 EU member states when compared to the same period in 2003 was 2.1 per cent.

The biggest growth in the third quarter was registered in Lithuania, 6.3 per cent, and the lowest in Italy and Germany registering a growth of 1.3 per cent.