NEWS | Wednesday, 26 March 2008

Unemployment drops but not in Gozo

David Darmanin

In the 12 months to February 2008, Malta experienced a decline in unemployment by 863 persons, whereas Gozo registered a slight increase of 18 – the National Statistics Office revealed yesterday.
A report compiled by the Labour Market Statistics Unit within the NSO announced that registered unemployment now stands at a total of 6,342 persons, compared to the 7,167 registered in the same month last year.

The study featured a breakdown of unemployment statistics split into gender, age group, origin (Malta and Gozo) and occupation sought.
The biggest drop in unemployment last February was registered among individuals aged between 20 and 24, when compared to the figures featured in the same month last year.
Also, during the twelve months to February 2008, the NSO report confirmed that duration of unemployment decreased across all sectors.
Among men, occupations related to elementary duties and plant or machine operators were the most commonly sought, whereas trends show that women tended to seek jobs that are more clerical or service-oriented.
Asked by this newspaper for conclusions on why Gozo fails to register the same progress as Malta, ETC General Manager Felix Borg commented : “Gozo is a small island and as a result generates limited job opportunities. Moreover, although substantial job opportunities are being created in Malta, it may not be convenient for Gozitans to avail themselves of such opportunities. However, this will not dishearten the Employment and Training Corporation from making bigger efforts to assist Gozitan jobseekers and employers alike.
“We offer employment services for jobseekers including guidance, development of personal action plans, employment schemes and job experience schemes. All these measures enable jobseekers to improve their employability through participation in the Job Experience and Work Start Schemes. Disadvantaged persons can obtain work experience through participation in the Bridging the Gap Scheme. A number of Gozitan jobseekers have benefited from these schemes.
“We also offer training services in the form of training courses and apprenticeships in Gozo. Between February 2007 and February 2008, 662 Gozitans attended ETC-organised training programmes in Gozo. This training enables them to improve their skills and chances of finding employment.
“In order to encourage increased employment levels in Gozo, ETC is administering the Gozo Employment Aid Scheme whereby employers in Gozo that employ disadvantaged persons are given employment aid to offset part of the wage costs. This scheme has proved to be popular among Gozitan employers and almost ninety individuals have benefited from such a scheme.”