Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/315336
14 Business Today maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 21 MAY 2014 Germany, Malta only EU states with jobs growth from 2002 Matthew Vella Among the EU member states, the evolution of the employment rate for the age group 20 to 64 between 2002 and 2013 has shown that only Germa- ny and Malta had a nearly continuous growth in jobs over the whole period. Latest data by Eurostat shows five broad groups: twelve member states (Bulgaria, Denmark, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland) showed the same evolution as the EU28 average, meaning an increase until around the financial crisis 2008 and then a decrease. In nine (the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Sweden, the United Kingdom), the employment rate rose until around 2008, then fell, but then recovered or partially recovered. In four member states (Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria and Poland), the employment rate rose until around 2008 and then remained almost stable. In Portugal, there has been an almost continuous fall since the beginning of the period while Germany and Malta showed a nearly continuous growth over the whole period. The divergence of the employment rates across member states has increased after the financial crisis, with a difference between the highest and the lowest employment rates of 19.4 percentage points in 2010 and of 26.6 pp in 2013. The employment rate of the population aged 20 to 64 in the EU28 showed a clear pattern during the last decade: it rose steadily from 66.7% in 2002 to 70.3% in 2008, then fell with the financial crisis to 68.9%, and has since continuously decreased to 68.3% in 2013. For the age group 55 to 64 in the EU28, the pattern is quite different: the employment rate has grown steadily from 38.1% in 2002 to reach 50.1% in 2013. This information comes the 2013 results of the European Labour Force Survey. In 2013, the highest employment rates for those aged 20 to 64 were observed in Sweden (79.8%), Germany (77.1%), the Netherlands (76.5%), Denmark (75.6%), Austria (75.5%), the United Kingdom (74.9%), Estonia and Finland (both 73.3%), and the lowest in Greece (53.2%), Croatia (53.9%), Spain (58.2%) and Italy (59.8%). In 2013, only Germany and Malta reached their Europe 2020 targets. ]SUBHEAD[ Continuous increase in employment rate for 55-64 For the age group 55 to 64, the evolution of the employment rate from 2002 and 2013 also differed at a Member State level. Four broad groups could be distinguished: twelve member states (Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden) showed the same evolution as the EU28 average, with increases across almost the whole period. In eleven (the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Romania, Slovenia and the United Kingdom), the employment rate rose until around 2008, then fell, but then recovered or partially recovered. In four member states (Greece, Spain, Croatia and Cyprus) an increase in their employment rate until around 2008 was followed by a continuous fall. In Portugal, there has been an almost continuous fall in the rate since 2002. In 2013, the highest employment rate by far for those aged 55 to 64 was observed in Sweden (73.6%), followed by Germany (63.5%), Estonia (62.6%), Denmark (61.7%) and the Netherlands (60.1%). The lowest rates for this age group were registered in Slovenia (33.5%), Greece (35.6%), Malta (35.9%), Croatia (36.5%) and Hungary (38.5%). MSV Life p.l.c. awarded The Business for Community Award 2014 MSV Life p.l.c. has been recently awarded The Business for Community Award for the year 2014 by the Flori- ana Local Council. On an annual basis the Floriana Local Council presents a number of awards to various individuals and entities that would have distinguished themselves in different initiatives throughout the year within the locality. During the presentation ceremony, Nigel Holland, Mayor of the Floriana Local Council said that it is important that Council recognizes the efforts of the holistic community which besides the local citizens is also composed of foreigners living in Floriana, entities operating from Floriana and also individuals who serve the Floriana community, like members of the police force, wardens, gardeners, cleaners etc. On announcing the winner of the Business for Community Award 2014, Holland thanked MSV Life for its commitment towards the Floriana community. David G. Curmi, CEO of MSV Life stated, "despite the fact that none of our employees live in Floriana, the locality of Floriana is very important for us because we spend most of our life working within this locality and we therefore feel that we have an important role to play in making the community of Floriana a better place in which to live and work". MSV Life is authorised by the Malta Financial Services Authority to carry on long term business under the Insurance Business Act, 1998. COM070514/1 Decline in meat production In the first quarter, meat production and the producer value declined by 2.0 and 1.5% respectively when compared to the corresponding quarter last year Meat production went down by 2.0% to 3,032 tonnes during the quarter under review. While the production of pigmeat and beef rose by 8.2 and 2.4% respectively, these were offset by a decline of 10.3% in the production of broiler meat. The increase in beef production resulted from a 0.4% rise in the number of slaughtered cattle and a 2.0% increase in the average carcass weight, while the rise in pigmeat production resulted from a 13.3 per cent increase in the carcass weight, despite a 4.5% decline in the number of pigs slaughtered. Additionally, broiler meat production declined by 10.3% due to a 10.6% drop in the number of slaughtered broilers, with the average carcass weight increasing marginally. Producer value The producer value of animals slaughtered at licensed slaughterhouses in the period under review amounted to €6.8 million, or 1.5 per cent less when compared to the first quarter of 2013. Decreases of 14.7% and 6.3% in the producer value of broilers and beef respectively were the result of drops of 8.4% and 4.8% in the average price per kilogramme of slaughtered cattle and broilers. On the other hand, an increase in the average carcass weight of slaughtered pigs was refl ected in an 8.2% rise in the producer value of pigs, with the average carcass price remaining stable. Republic Street, Valletta next to the Courts