16 - 22 August 2001

One in four workers is a part-timer

by David Kelleher

Roughly one in four workers in Malta is a part-timer. Over the past few years the incidence of part-time workers in Malta has risen sharply and this is also reflected in some European countries, particularly the Netherlands and Belgium.
With a workforce of around 141,000, there were 36,522 part-time workers in Malta at the end of last year.
This works out at just over 27 per cent of the workforce. Compared to other countries for which statistics are available, only the Netherlands and Australia have a higher per-
centage of part-timers. Of the total workforce at the end of 2000, 32 per cent of workers in The Netherlands were part-timers. In Australia, the percentage was nearly 28 per cent.
After Malta, one finds Japan and Britain (24 per cent), New Zealand (23 per cent) and Norway (21 per cent). The lowest percentages of part-time workers are found in Slovakia, Greece, Spain, Italy, Austria and Poland. The EU average
is around 17 per cent. The OECD average is 15.5 per cent.
The increase in part-time workers has increased considerably over the past three years. In fact, the total of part-time workers increased from 27,786 in December 1997 to 36,522 at the end of 2000, according to data from the Central Office of Statistics. At the end of last year, the total
figure comprised 20,633 males and 15,889 women.
Although more males in Malta have a part-time employment, the trend in European countries is totally the opposite. According to OECD data, the percentage of part-time male workers has increased slightly, however the market is dominated by females. In the Netherlands, the percentage of female part-time workers is 76 per cent. In the UK, this has decreased from 85 per cent to 80 per cent. In Luxembourg, for example, only 10 per cent of the part-time workforce is made up of males.
The fact that more males have part-time employment in Malta and the increase in number registered between 1997-2000 could be due to the fact that part-time employment is a necessity. With more and more families faced with increased taxation and high living costs, the need for the breadwinner to have two jobs or that the wife must work to supplement the family salary has become a must.