Africans in Malta are among the least paid in 12 EU states and their job is also most likely to be manual if they live here, according to the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights.

The proportion of Africans employed in elementary occupations is the highest in Malta. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

In its latest report, FRA looked into the experiences of nearly 6,000 black people. It said that in the EU these people face unacceptable difficulties in simply finding somewhere to live or getting a decent job. 

Seven in 10 working-age respondents are in paid work, with the rate higher among men. The highest paid work rates were observed in Portugal and the UK, with the lowest in Denmark, Austria, Ireland and Malta.

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Meanwhile, one in five aged between 16 and 24 years are neither in paid work nor in education or training, with substantial differences between countries.

The share is highest in Austria (76 per cent) and Malta (70 per cent) with significant differences when compared to the rate for the general population (eight per cent for both countries).

When it comes to the kind of job they do, a quarter of respondents work in elementary occupations, compared to less than 10 per cent for the general population across all EU countries.

Elementary occupations usually consist of manual work involving physical effort. The proportion of those employed in elementary occupations is the highest in Malta. Here, two-thirds do such work, followed by Portugal (50 per cent).

The report also looked into how people of African descent were at a high risk of poverty compared to other high-risk groups, such as single parents.

In fact, more than one in two have a household income below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold after social transfers.

The highest rates are observed in Austria (88 per cent) and Malta (82 per cent) – by contrast, this is the case for 14 per cent of the general population in Austria and 17 per cent of the Maltese population.

The survey also looked into the quality of housing and whether the respondents could afford it. The results show that nearly one in two respondents live in overcrowded housing, compared to 17 per cent of the EU population.

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While, again, the highest rates of overcrowding are observed among respondents in Malta (84 per cent) and Austria (74 per cent), the rate is higher among respondents of African descent compared to the general population in all of the surveyed countries.

Malta fared poorly when it came to severe housing deprivation as well. This is defined as living in an overcrowded dwelling and lacking basic sanitary facilities, suffering from housing problems such as a leaking roof or rotten windows, or living in a dwelling that is considered to be too dark.

Across the EU, 4.8 per cent of the population suffered from severe housing deprivation in 2016. On average, around one in 10 of African descent respondents face overcrowding and suffer from one or more of four housing problems.

However, one in three in Malta, and one in five in Austria and Portugal live in such dwellings.