April unemployment at 5.2 per cent

- Gozitan unemployment rises dramatically

In April 2003, the overall unemployment rate stood at 5.2 per cent. The rate for men stood at 5.8 per cent, whereas that for women stood at 3.4 per cent.
The unemployment rate among youths stood at 7.2 per cent. Young men have been persistently affected by unemployment in a drastic manner for many years covered by this release.
According to the administrative records of the Employment and Training Corporation for August, an increase of 138 in the registered unemployed persons over the previous month. When comparing the figures for August 2003 and August 2002, an increase of 640 unemployed persons was recorded on the ETC unemployment registers.
Actually, further comparison of the figures for August 2003 and August 2002 point to a heavy increase in the number of those registering for work under Part 1, while a small reduction in the number of those registering for work under Part 2 of the register was recorded.
Accordingly, there was an increase of 658 persons registering for work under Part 1 of the unemployment register in the twelve months to August 2003. On the other hand, there was a decrease of 18 persons registering for work under Part 2 of the unemployment register in the twelve months to August 2003.
Gozitan unemployment
When only those registering under Part 1 of the unemployment register are taken into consideration, it transpires that a substantial increase in unemployment was recorded in Gozo in the 12 months up to August 2003. Accordingly, there was an increase of 21.4 per cent in the number of registered unemployed in Gozo in the twelve months to August 2003. In numerical terms, this increase in unemployment in the island of Gozo in the last year affected women in a more severe way when compared to men.
Similarly, when only those registering under Part 1 of the unemployment register are taken into consideration, it comes out that the growth in unemployment in Malta affected women more severely than men in the twelve months to August 2003. Accordingly, an increase of 15.0 per cent in female unemployment was recorded in the twelve months to August 2003. The heavy redundancies in the clothing and footwear industries seem to be the cause of the rise in unemployment among women in the last twelve months.