During a press briefing at Bulebel industrial estate on the theme 'More work, better work', Lawrence Gonzi, Prime Minister of Malta stated that the target of MLP for creating 2,000 jobs was not satisfactory since the country actually needs to generate 5,000 new jobs every year to keep unemployment at bay.
Dr Gonzi said, “Employment allows a country to improve its standard of living. We have a GDP growth rate of over four per cent, which is above the EU average. But the real challenge is translating that growth into new jobs.”
Further, he said that there were presently about 168,767 people engaged in paid employment, 142,421 of which were in full time positions and 26,346 in part time employment, none of them counting double.
“It is the highest ever rate of employment and consequently, we are enjoying the lowest unemployment rate in 12 years. And we did not achieve this by employing 8,000 people in the public sector on the eve of a general election,” said the Prime Minister.
When asked about the economic state of the country, Dr Gonzi said that Malta had a stable economy, which succeeded in attracting domestic as well as direct foreign investment. However, it is crucial to enhance productivity and competitiveness further as the country requires more capital.
Dr Gonzi also pointed out that although hundreds of jobs had been lost at various textiles-based factories when they shut down, the government had managed to create more jobs than were lost.
The government expects to see the GDP contribution of the financial services go up from 12 per cent to 25 per cent. All in all, the employment sector will be playing a crucial role in determining the overall development of the country's economy.
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