Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1321294
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 DECEMBER 2020 NEWS For more information you may visit our website; bca.org.mt/careers Jobsplus 699/2020 - Reference Number BCAHR 003/2020 DIRECTOR BUILDING CODE, POLICY & EU AFFAIRS CAREER OPPORTUNITIES Applications should be sent by noon on Wednesday, 30th December 2020, via email on: recruitment@bca.org.mt. Jobsplus 342/2020 - Reference Number BCAHR 005/2020 SENIOR MANAGER COMPLIANCE & ENFORCEMENT Jobsplus 697/2020 - Reference Number BCAHR 016/2020 SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR Jobsplus 343/2020 - Reference Number BCAHR 010/2020 POLICY RESEARCH OFFICER NICOLE MEILAK A report by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) has found that in-work poverty is on an upward trend in Malta, despite the economy's fair resilience un- der COVID-19 and improving job figures. Full employment is a milestone for an economy, but as more and more people enter the active labour force, some are in- creasingly finding themselves toeing the poverty line. Between 2010 and 2019, the in-work at-risk-of-poverty rate increased by 12%, from 5.8% at the start of the dec- ade to 6.5% last year. This puts in-work poverty at an all-time high. Increasing numbers of workers are re- sorting to temporary contracts, with the percentage of employees on these con- tracts almost doubling over a decade. In 2010, 5.3% of workers were temporary employees within their workplace. Now in 2019, temporary employees make up 9.1% of the workforce. People take on temp work for a variety of reasons – 2.4% of workers said they opted for such a contract because they could not find a permanent job. Another 1.5% said that they did not want a per- manent job, while 1.9% said they were in education or training. For a majority 3.3% this was simply a probationary period. Pioneer in gender inequality In 2019, the female employment rate stood 20.7 percentage points below the male employment rate at 65.8%. This puts Malta at the forefront of gender inequal- ity in the labour market, at least by the EU's standards. But it's not all doom and gloom – the female employment rate has been rising rapidly over the years, consistently clock- ing in at a higher rate every year. Male employment is also on the rise, but at a rate that's far less rapid. Employment prospects aren't as hopeful when one moves up the career ladder. Us- ing statistics from the European Institute of Gender Equality, the report points out the Malta also ranks worst in sex equal- ity among corporate boards. Among the largest quoted companies locally, women make up roughly 10% of board members, resulting in a corporate gender gap of 85.6%. Although Malta ranks worst in this re- spect, this is still a marked improvement compared to recent years. On average, between 2015 and 2017, women made up only 7.2% of all board members Central bank projections Unemployment is predicted to rise to 4.1% this year from 3.4% in 2019, accord- ing to this week's Central Bank Econom- ic Projections, and is expected to remain above its 2019 level in the near future. Rather than boiling this down to fiscal measures, which have been highly sup- portive of employment, the Central Bank says that rising unemployment is in part mitigated by an envisaged drop in the la- bour supply resulting from migrant out- flows and an increase in inactivity – espe- cially among older workers more severely impacted by the pandemic. The wage supplement scheme pro- vided a lifeline for struggling industries when the pandemic hit, but the scheme is expected to push compensation per employee downwards. For the duration of the scheme, government and employ- ers will continue to pay workers a low- er-than-average wage throughout the scheme, but once this expires wage levels will begin to normalise. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 5.3 6.5 6.9 7.6 7.7 7.5 7.6 6 7.9 9.1 Percentage share of temporary employees Source: Eurostat (LFSA_ETGAR) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 5.8 6.1 5.2 5.8 5.5 5.5 5.8 5.8 6.4 6.5 Source: Eurostat (SDG_01_41) In-work at-risk-of-poverty rate 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 3.25 2.45 2.7 3.5 4.75 7.7 9 9.7 10.2 Women Men Source: EIGE 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Male Female Employment rate (%) over time 4 5 6 7 8 9 5.3 6.5 6.9 7.6 7.7 7.5 7.6 6 7.9 9.1 Percentage share of temporary employees 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 5.8 6.1 5.2 5.8 5.5 5.5 5.8 5.8 6.4 6.5 Source: Eurostat (SDG_01_41) In-work at-risk-of-poverty rate 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 3.25 2.45 2.7 3.5 4.75 7.7 9 9.7 10.2 96.75 97.55 97.3 96.5 95.25 92.3 91 90.3 89.8 Women Men Percentage of men, women on executive & director boards Source: EIGE Source: Eurostat (LFSA_ERGAN) Higher in-work poverty despite resilient economy ETUI report finds increased rate of in- work poverty due to increase in temporary contracts