The coronavirus pandemic is particularly impacting youth employment in Malta, National Statistic Office figures reveal.

Around 10.8 per cent of people aged under 25 were out of work in April, compared to 8.5 per cent the previous year – an increase of 2.3 percentage points. 

Workers across all age groups were hit by the pandemic as hundreds of jobs were lost following the announcement of measures that saw businesses shut their doors.

But according to the NSO’s figures, young people were the hardest hit. 

Unemployment among those aged over 25 stood at 2.3 per cent, an increase of 1.2 percentage points from last year.

And the overall unemployment rate in Malta stood at 4 per cent, an increase of 0.6 percentage points from the same month in 2019. 

Figures have been adjusted to remove the influences of seasonal patterns. 

In April, all non-essential shops and restaurants remained closed while bars and the airport remain shut, impacting tourism, which accounts for almost 17 per cent of the economy. 

Malta has traditionally one of the lowest rates of youth unemployment in Europe.