Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1527938
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 16 OCTOBER 2024 NEWS TOPIA 22 nd Oct 2024 - 19 th Jan 2025 Muża - The National Community Art Museum An Exhibition By Barnaby Barford MATTHEW VELLA mvella@mediatoday.com.mt MALTA'S labour force aged 15-64 has increased from 74.1% of the total workforce in 2018, to 80.7% in 2023 with women playing an important role in the growth. Females were in fact the main contributors driving this growth, increasing by 9.7 points over the five-year period, while the con- tribution of men was 3.1% points higher than in 2018. The highest activity rate was re- corded among those aged 25 to 54, where 96% were active in the labour market (78% for 15-64). For females in the 24-54 cohort, activity rates registered a substan- tial increase 10-point increase. Overall, the national activi- ty rate (15-64) for 2023 was 5.7 points higher than that recorded for the EU-27. National activity rates were higher than EU-27 in- dicators for all age groups except for 55-64 year-olds, which in the EU is 9.6 points higher than na- tional rates. Between 2018 and 2023, male employment rates increased by an average of 0.7% per year whereas female rates increased by 1.9% per annum. In both EU and in Malta the employment rate for males tends to be higher than the rate for fe- males. With the exception of those between 55 and 64 years, at a national level, more males and females tend to be in employment when compared to the EU-27 av- erage. The largest gap between national and EU-27 rates was recorded for the 15- to 24-year- olds, with the national employ- ment rate reaching at 50.4% as compared with 35.2% for the EU- 27. Despite the fact that across all age brackets the employment rate has been increasing, the age structure of those in employment has been experiencing changes over the past years. The younger cohort had an increase of one per- centage point between 2018 and 2023 whereas among the 20-64 increased by 6.4 points over the same period. The data indicates a reduction in the employment gender gap between 2018 and 2023, thanks to a number of incentives encourag- ing females to join or stay in the labour market. In 2023, Malta's employment gender gap was 4.3 percentage points more when compared to the EU-27 levels. Employment in the services sec- tor increased during the period under review, starting from 57% during 2018 and reaching 63.1% in 2023. During the same year, the female employment share in ser- vices was 20.4 points lower than the EU-27 average. In 2023, approximately 15 out of every 100 employed persons were self-employed, 0.7 percent- age points higher than EU-27 levels. On average, over the past six years, self-employed males accounted for 19.3% of total em- ployed males. On the other hand, national rates for female self-em- ployment were at par with those recorded within the EU-27. On average, over the past six years, just over a tenth of employ- ees were working on a part-time basis. During 2023, 17% of female employees in Malta had this type of working arrangement, whereas at EU-27 level, 29.7% of all female employees were engaged on a part-time basis. When compar- ing to EU-27, the national share of part-time workers was 8.4 per- centage points lower than EU lev- els, with a difference of 12.7 per- centage points lower for females and 3.2 percentage points less for males. Women drive Maltese job growth