Malta tops employment rate growth in 2018

Malta’s employment rate witnessed the fastest growth rate within the EU in 2018 and in the last decade, according to data released by Eurostat.

Employment on the island increased by 5.7% from 2017 to 2018.

In addition, in the decade from 2008-2018, Malta recorded an impressive 46% growth in employment, followed by Luxembourg (+28.4%), and three regions in Poland, Eurostat said.

Looking at the EU as a whole in 2018, 9 out of 10 regions recorded employment growth, and employment within the bloc grew by 1.4%.

Over the last decade, the EU’s employment rate went up by 2.6%, with almost two thirds of EU regions during this period recording employment growth. 

GDP per capita in EU regions

In 2018, regional GDP per capita, ranged from 30% of the European Union (EU) average in Mayotte, an overseas region of France, to 263% in Luxembourg.

The leading regions in the ranking of regional GDP per capita in 2018, after Luxembourg, were Southern (225%) and Eastern & Midland (210%) in Ireland, Brussels Region (203%) in Belgium, Hamburg in Germany (197%) and Prague in Czechia (192%).

In contrast, after the overseas region of France Mayotte, the lowest regions in the ranking were three Bulgarian regions: North-West (34%), North-Central (35%) and South-Central (36%).

Malta fell within the group of regions with GDP per capita from 84 to 104% of the EU average.