Workers from outside the EU are twice as likely than their Maltese counterparts to leave their job in the first year, according to a report from the Central Bank. 

However, while 15% of third-country nationals left their job within the first three months last year, this percentage was surpassed by EU workers, the report showed.

Workers from the European Union recorded similar levels of terminations in 2022 while in the first year of a job.  

Termination levels were significantly higher last year for both EU and non-EU workers who had been with the same employer for up to four years. Meanwhile, Maltese workers were more likely than their foreign counterparts to leave a job after being with the same company for more than five years. 

The report, authored by chief economist at the Central Bank, Aaron G Grech, also showed how Malta’s labour market has undergone radical changes over the last 20 years.  

In 2005, Maltese workers accounted for a staggering 94% of all terminations and engagements, while by the end of last year this had dropped by almost half to 55%.  

The number of terminations and hires for third-country nationals, meanwhile, had rocketed from 2% to 26% in the same period.  

The report also noted that the increase in the number of EU nationals to Malta was “greatly” being surpassed by those from outside the union, who it said were “more transient than they used to be”.

"As a result of the fact that both TCNs [third-country nationals] and EU nationals are much less likely than Maltese citizens to stay with the same employer for more than a year, the greater reliance on foreign workers is leading to higher labour turnover,” the report said.  

The study also found that the number of women in the workplace had more than tripled since 2005, with last year’s number being 223% of that seen previously.  

While this was more than the number of men — which was 165% the level in 2005 — women still accounted for less than half of the workforce, occupying 41% of the total workforce, up from 34% in 2005.