Malta Insights

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YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE LOWEST IN A YEAR

The rate of unemployment among the 15-24 age group stood at 8.8 percent in September, the lowest in the twelve months under review by the National Statistics Office. Before the September 2020 results, the youth unemployment rate was smallest in July 2020 and September 2019, reaching 9.1 percent in both months.

The latest data shows that the overall unemployment rate for September 2020 fell to 4.0 percent from 4.1 percent the month before. Compared with September 2019, the rate increased by 0.4 percentage points.

The unemployment rate among women was 4.2 percent, higher than the 3.8 percent registered among men. At the same time, there were almost 1,400 more unemployed men in September than the 4,672 unemployed women.

The unemployment rate climbed to 4.5 percent in April and May this year from 3.5 percent in February, before dropping gradually in the following months. The rate stood at a consistent 3.6 percent in the final third of 2019.

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INTERMEDIATE GOODS PUSH PRODUCER PRICE INDEX DOWN

The annual variation in the producer prices of intermediate goods dropped by 3.06 percent in September, pulling the Producer Price Index down by 0.99 percent. Data by the National Statistics Office shows that, compared to September 2019, industrial prices for intermediate goods grew by 0.39 for the domestic market but fell by 3.97 percent for the non-domestic market.

Total Indices for the domestic market rose by 1.60 percent, registering increases in consumer goods (+4.93%) and capital goods (+0.22%). The industrial capital goods Index for non-domestic markets, also grew by 0.39 percent but consumer goods dropped by 1.95 percent.

SOCIAL BENEFITS BILL UP BY €63 MILLION THIS YEAR

Government expenditure on Social Security Benefits rose by 8.4 percent between January and September compared to the same period in 2019. Figures by the National Statistics Office show an increase in both Contributory and Non-Contributory Benefits, reaching a combined total of €816.2 million in the first three quarters this year.

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Contributory Benefits amounted to €670.5 million until September, 75.4 percent of which were allocated for Old Age allowances. The outlay for Contributory Benefits was 9.7 percent higher than the in the corresponding months last year. The Two-Thirds Pension absorbed €377.1 million of the expenditure, the Contributory Benefits category with the biggest number of beneficiaries: 52,595.

Non-Contributory Benefits increased by 2.7 percent from 2019 reaching €145.6 million. Family and Children Benefits made 34.5 percent of the total, the largest share, followed by Old Age Benefits (20.3%) and Sickness Benefits (19%).

The biggest number of beneficiaries fell under the Children’s Allowance category, with an total expenditure of €29.2 million disbursed to 44,404 beneficiaries.

UNEMPLOYMENT REGISTER SHEDS 600 PEOPLE IN SEPTEMBER

Registered unemployment stood at 3,385 in September, down from 3,672 the month before. Figures by the National Statistics Office show a decrease in people registering for employment across all age groups.

Compared with the same month last year, however, the unemployment register grew by more than double from 1,668. The year-on-year increase was observed among both women and men, and across all age groups.

Clerical support workers made up more than a quarter of the unemployment register in September, the highest share among job categories even if it decreased by 0.5 percentage points from August. Occupations in the Professionals category, on the other hand, registered the biggest month-on-month increase climbing to 9.9 percent of total unemployed.

The number of unemployed persons looking for work for up to 21 weeks stood at 1,534 in September, less than the 2,080 in August but more than twice the annual average for 2019. 605 people have

been on the register for over a year, seven more than in August but 135 less than the annual average recorded last year.

Compared with August 2020, the industrial producer price index decreased by 0.56 percent, recording declines in consumer goods (+1.0%) and intermediate goods (+0.60%). Capital goods rose by 0.02 percent and there was no change in energy production. In August, the Producer Price Index was down by 1.00 from the previous month, the biggest drop registered this year.

Inbound tourism dips by over 70 percent in first three-quarters Between January and September, there were 583,776 inbound tourists, a decrease of 72 percent from the same period in 2019. Figures by the National Statistics Office show that expenditure per capita also fell from €822 per capita last year to €673 this year. In September 2020, inbound tourism fell by more than 80 percent compared with the same month the previous year. A total of 49,966 visited for holiday purposes while 2,074 came for business during the month.

Just under 35,000 inbound tourists were from the euro area, with Germany emerging as the biggest market with nearly 11,000 arrivals. The UK accounted for almost nine in every ten non-EU tourists, with 9,375 visitors.

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SEVEN CRUISE LINER CALLS ALL SUMMER

There were seven port of calls by cruise ships during the third quarter this year, down sharply from 122 in the same period last year. Figures by the National Statistics Office show a total cruise passenger traffic of just over 7,018; all except two were in transit. The number is a decrease of 97.3 percent from Q3 2019.

The average number of passengers per vessel between July and September was 1,003; it was 2,108 in the same quarter the previous year. More than nine in ten incoming visitors were from EU countries, with Italian tourists accounting for 78.9 percent of total passengers. The UK represented the largest non-EU market, contributing to 0.2 percent of total arrivals.

Slightly more than a third of passengers were between the ages of 40 to 59, the largest age group as in 2019 and 2018. The 60-79 age group, however, held a share of 12 percent – a marked drop from almost 50 percent in both of the previous two years. On the other hand, the 20 to 39 age bracket rose to the second-largest cohort with 30 percent of total passengers, even if arrivals fell compared to both 2019 (-94.3%) and 2018 (-92.4%).

Between January and September this year, there were 47,193 cruise liner passengers, 61 of whom landed while the rest were in transit. In the first nine months of 2019, 118,844 passengers landed and 479,993 were in transit with a combined total cruise passenger traffic of 598,837.