VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta’s unemployment rate rose to 3.6% in April, reaching its highest level in eight months as the number of jobless people increased by more than 3,000 since August 2025.
Figures published by the National Statistics Office (NSO) after the general election showed that 12,400 people were unemployed in April, up from 9,123 in August, an increase of 36%.
The unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points from March and by 0.6 points compared with April last year.
Youth unemployment remained a major concern, climbing to 9.1%, more than three times the 3.0% rate recorded among people aged 25 to 74. Young people accounted for 21.9% of all unemployed persons.
Female unemployment increased to 3.5%, while the rate for men remained unchanged at 3.6%.
The release of the figures reignited criticism of the NSO after it postponed publication until two days after Labour secured a fourth consecutive term in government.
The statistics office said the delay was intended to safeguard “integrity, neutrality, ethics and sound statistical governance” because the original publication date fell on the election campaign’s day of reflection.
Critics argued that previous economic data had been published during election periods and accused authorities of selectively withholding information that could have reflected negatively on the government.
Throughout the election campaign, Prime Minister Robert Abela repeatedly cited Malta’s low unemployment rate as evidence of economic success, describing the country as having one of the lowest unemployment levels in the European Union.
The latest figures, however, show unemployment has been rising steadily since August last year.
-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
