National reform programme 2008-2010 Malta - European Commission

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Employment Increasing the overall employment rate is a matter of priority in Malta. A multi-faceted approach is being undertaken with a view to address different segments of the population including youths, women and older workers. This approach has led to a decrease in the unemployment rate which amounted to 6.4% which is less than EU 27. In addition, Government has now also embarked on its first pathway for flexicurity which will be implemented over the next cycle of the new NRP. Regional employment in the island of Gozo is also being given high priority. The employment strategy being pursued aims to exploit the human resource potential to achieve a flexible labour market and to increase employment opportunities in Gozo. Furthermore, the employment strategy is intended to facilitate the transition from traditional sectors to the growth sectors and thus aiming to increase employment opportunities in Gozo. In addition to the actions undertaken by Government addressing the country specific recommendations and points to watch, Government has also committed to introduce measures which promote the importance of health and safety at the place of work with a view to further contribute towards the overall employment rate. Health and Safety A contributor towards the retention of employees within the labour market is occupational health and safety. The Maltese workplace should be an environment where health and safety issues are not considered as afterthoughts but are integrated throughout all work systems and processes. This aim requires the cooperation of all stakeholders. Appropriate preventative measures should be in place in all workplaces in Malta to minimise the possibility and severity of occupational incidents and illness. The ultimate goal should be zero preventable incidents that can affect occupational health and safety. Employers, employees and self employed persons will be aware of the importance of preventative health and safety measures, and will have the knowledge, expertise and commitment to apply these measures to their workplace. Within this context, the Maltese Government is further consolidating its efforts towards improving health and safety at the place of work. During the next three years, Government through the Occupational Health and Safety Authority shall develop an effective legislative framework and enforcement procedures with a view to ensure compliance with health and safety regulations. An Overview of Recent Labour Market Trends The labour market in Malta has been buoyant in 2007 and 2008, registering the eighth highest levels of employment growth in the European Union. Productivity has risen each year since 2004, standing at a growth of 2% in 2007 over 2006. The tax wedge on the cost of labour in respect of low wage earners is the second lowest in the EU27. Government has already taken a number of actions in respect of Malta’s country-specific recommendations, seeking to increase the labour supply, to reduce undeclared work and to make work pay. This momentum will be sustained in 2009 and 2010 with a view to reaching Malta’s employment targets for 2010. The Labour Market in 2008 Since 2004, there have been increases on various employment indicators. The overall employment rate in 2007 stood at 55.7%, a rise of 2.3% over 2004. The rate for men has decreased over this period by 0.8 per cent to stand at 74.2%, which is identical to EU15 and higher than the EU27. Malta National Reform Programme 2008-2010 - 68 -
The rate for women is – at 36.9% - still twenty percentage points lower than the European average though it has risen by 5.3 per cent since 2004. However, the rates differ markedly by age group as illustrated in the table below. Table 6 - Employment Rates, 2007 Age Male Female Total 15 – 24 48.0 44.0 46.0 25 – 54 90.1 40.6 65.7 55 – 59 68.9 (20.20) 44.0 60 – 64 (21.5) -- (11.8) 15 – 64 74.2 36.9 55.7 N.B. Rates in brackets not reliable due to small sample size The gender gap in employment remains; at 37.3% it is two and a half times greater than the EU27 average. However, the gap is much lower when it comes to persons with high educational attainment (9.9% vs. 6.7% in EU27). Furthermore, the gender gap between young women and young men is, at 4%, lower than that in the EU27 of 6%. The level of gender segregation in both occupations and sectors is also lower in Malta than the EU27. The employment rate of young people aged between 15 and 24 has risen 0.8% since 2004 to stand at 46%. However, that of older workers has decreased by 2.9%. The employment rate of people aged between 55 and 59 is, at 44%, 13.5 percentage points lower than the EU27 rate. One must take into account the historical gender dimension; in fact, the male rate in this age group is similar to that of the EU27 (67.2%). Another important indicator is the average exit age from the labour force. In 2006, this stood at age 58.5, an increase of 0.9 over 2001 but still low. Unemployment has continued to decrease in 2008, to stand at 6.5%, the lowest rate since 2000 (when the first Labour Force Survey found unemployment to stand at 6.3%). The drop is visible both among men (from 6.5% to 5.9%) and women (from 8.9% to 7.7%). Among young people, the unemployment rate is 13.3%, and the unemployment ratio 51 is 7.1%. The drop in the unemployment ratio has been particularly marked for young women (from 8.8% to 5.5%) but is also visible among young men (from 9.5% to 8.6%). Long-term unemployment 52 has also decreased, from 3.4% in 2004 to 2.6% in 2007; this is true among both men and women. Working arrangements in Malta tend to be less diverse than in the EU27, though a slight increase is evident in this respect. In 2007, 26.2% of employees worked in ‘diverse’ arrangements 53 compared to 39.1% in EU27. In Malta, the number of those working on a part-time basis only, has risen every year (in 2007, 9.2% compared to 14.4% EU27). This is particularly true of women. Those working on fixed-term contracts has risen slightly but is still very low (3.1% compared to 10.7% EU27). Self-employment in Malta is closer to the European average (13.8% compared to 15.1% EU27). The share of female employment in part-time and fixed-term work is higher than the share of male employment in these categories; the opposite is true of self-employment. In 2007, Maltese employees worked an average of 40.4 hours per week (40.5 EU27). Men worked 41.1 hours, while women worked 38.8 hours on average. 18.2% of Maltese employees have access to flexible working time (EU27 31.3%); the rates for men and women are similar (18.4% and 17.8%). In respect of workforce skills, there has been a rise in the proportion of adults in lifelong learning, from 4.5% in 2000 to 6.0% in 2007 (EU27 9.7). Men are more likely to participate in such activities, presumably through work, than are women (6.4% and 5.7% respectively). Among those with higher or medium educational attainment, the lifelong learning rates are higher in Malta than in the EU27 (higher: 19.3%, EU27 18.6%; medium 11.2%, EU27 8.9%). 51 i.e. the total number of unemployed youth as a share of all those in the same age group. 52 Those unemployed for 12 months or more as a proportion of total active population 53 Includes part-time, fixed-term and self-employment Malta National Reform Programme 2008-2010 - 69 -
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Contents List of Acronyms..........
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Conclusion.........................
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IT Information Technology SCM Stand
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Introduction The renewed Lisbon Str
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Malta’s NRP 2005-2008 Closure Rep
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Measure 1.5 Redeploy Government emp
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Measure 1.12 Promote public service
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Measure 2.1.3 Develop SME loan guar
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Measure 2.4 Enhancement of existing
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In July 2008 Malta experienced a 1.
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Moreover, Government has set its vi
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The first phase of this initiative
Page 26 and 27: Between 2005 and 2006, 37 22 partic
Page 28 and 29: A consultation paper on the introdu
Page 30 and 31: Measure 4.7 Establish a forum betwe
Page 32 and 33: Within this context, an MPA Steerin
Page 34 and 35: The main plant of Sant Antnin is be
Page 36 and 37: Political Summary The re-launch of
Page 38 and 39: Addressing Malta’s Specific Recom
Page 40 and 41: Whereas it may be confidently ascer
Page 42 and 43: Table 2 - Key State Aid Indicators
Page 44 and 45: Older workers Increasing the employ
Page 46 and 47: Implement changes to the tax and be
Page 48 and 49: Containing public health care expen
Page 50 and 51: Within this context the existing Bu
Page 52 and 53: Raising educational attainment and
Page 54 and 55: • a number of policy reviews whic
Page 56 and 57: Macroeconomic Policies Recent Econo
Page 58 and 59: The improvement in the current acco
Page 60 and 61: Vision and Objectives Stable macro
Page 62 and 63: The generally widespread trend in E
Page 64 and 65: This high degree of decentralisatio
Page 66 and 67: Microeconomic Pillar The turbulent
Page 68 and 69: • 5 IOs concerning Financial Serv
Page 70 and 71: The ongoing screening process has i
Page 72 and 73: The results of this investment have
Page 74 and 75: In this respect, energy efficiency
Page 78 and 79: The opposite is true for those with
Page 80 and 81: The project will help young people
Page 82 and 83: This process aims to facilitate the
Page 84 and 85: In addition, MCAST is embarking on
Page 86 and 87: Apart from the Faculty of ICT, the
Page 88 and 89: • the Implementation of an on-goi
Page 90 and 91: Appendix: 01 - List of Measures
Page 92 and 93: 3.4 Manufacturing research projects
Page 94 and 95: 9.0 Addressing Groups at Risk 9.1 E
Page 96 and 97: 15.5 Upgrading of Zewwieqa Waterfro
Page 98 and 99: Appendix: 02 - Flexicurity Measures
Page 100 and 101: key competencies to adult learners
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National reform programme 2008-2010 Malta - European Commission

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