Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1435356
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 DECEMBER 2021 10 NEWS C A R E E R O P P O R T U N I T Y The Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services is seeking to recruit a Customer Rela ons Officer to join its team. The candidate will be answering queries of a financial services nature and will also be dealing with minor cases aiming for their early resolu on. Further informa on about this vacancy is available at www.financialarbiter.org.mt Applicants are kindly requested to submit a covering le er and a CV by registered post or by hand to: Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services Chairman - Selec on Board First Floor, St Calcedonius Square Floriana FRN1530 Closing date for applica ons is 16 December 2021. Shortlisted candidates will be required to a end for an interview by the Selec on Board and possibly to a second interview, as necessary. Jobsplus Permit Number 357/2021 Jobsplus Permit Number 61/2019 Visit www.landsauthority.org.mt/mt/about-us/careers/ for the relevant job description. Apply: hr.la@landsauthority.org.mt Closing Date: 17 th December 2021. WE ARE RECRUITING! SENIOR PROFESSIONAL OFFICER – LEGAL SENIOR PROFESSIONAL OFFICER ARCHITECT & CIVIL ENGINEER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Whisper it softly, but infla- tionary fears and low supply today could mean a recession- ary new year in the first half of 2022. Businesses might rest easy that Malta's fixed-price agree- ment on LNG has meant stable energy prices as gas prices rise elsewhere in Europe. But what happens when higher business costs translate into higher pric- es for consumers, and in turn, demands for higher wages in a market where employers are finding a myriad of recruitment problems? "What we're seeing now is higher supply costs and supply problems," says Brian Muscat, a man with his feet at both the business and consumer end of production. "Shipping costs have risen, even due to a lack of containers. Yet we have high demand for goods, but no sup- ply: that pushes the price of transportation up. But Maltese businesses also have high local transport costs as well… so I am seeing problems in the first half of 2022." Annual variation of the industrial producer price indices TOTAL price index Non-Domestic 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 Oct 17 Oct 18 Oct 19 Oct 20 Nov 20 Dec 20 Jan 21 Feb 21 Mar 21 Apr 21 May 21 Jun 21 Jul 21 Aug 21 Sep 21 Oct 21 9.37 -0.88 7.06 4.33 1.95 0.94 -2.32 1.00 -2.06 0.92 -1.05 0.89 1.87 -1.01 2.30 1.08 2.66 2.30 2.79 3.37 2.85 3.08 8.01 1.17 3.02 9.59 1.50 4.37 8.55 1.84 4.63 Intermediate goods Capital goods Durable consumer goods Non-durable consumer goods -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Q3 2020 Q4 2020 Q1 2021 Q2 2021 Q3 2021 Motor trade Wholesale trade Food retail Non-food retail Transportation and storage Accommodation and food service ICT Real estate Professional, technical Admin and support service Services gross wages and salaries index All values are percentage increase over the same month from the previous year A hike in wages is being reported in the accommodation and food service industry at the end of summer, but elsewhere the index is reporting ordinary levels of wages The industrial producer price index monitors the changes in selling prices of all leading products within a sample of around 80 large enterprises which account for over 80 per cent of the total industrial turnover. Malta's supply chain problem: 'I'm seeing