NSO Malta | Regional Labour Supply by Place of Residence and Work: 2025

News
Data
Methodology

Salient Points

In 2025, total employed persons in MALTA amounted to 340,463, an increase of 4.9 per cent when compared to previous year.
When compared to 2024, full-time employment of Malta residents increased by 4.7 per cent to 283,472, while Gozo and Comino residents with a full-time job increased by 5.7 per cent to 20,754.
In 2025, full-time employment in Malta region stood at 288,887, an increase of 4.8 per cent over 2024, while in Gozo and Comino region, full-time employment reached 15,339, an increase of 4.4 per cent over 2024.
Gozo and Comino residents working on a full-time basis in Malta region totalled 4,946, of which, 54.2 per cent were males.
During 2025, persons registering for work were largest in the Southern Harbour and Northern Harbour districts (25.8 per cent).

Commentary

In 2025, total employed persons (full-time and part-time as a primary job) in MALTA amounted to 340,463, an increase of 4.9 per cent when compared to the previous year. The shares of the Malta region by place of residence and place of work stood at 93.1 and 94.8 per cent respectively.

The labour supply is composed of persons in employment and those registering for work. To examine regional labour supply in MALTA at NUTS 3 level, employment statistics are being presented under two different variants; by place of residence and place of work respectively. Persons working outside their region of residence are referred to as commuter workers.

Total employed persons (full-time and part-time as a primary job) in Malta and Gozo and Comino regions (NUTS 3)

Employed persons in Malta region (by place of work), exceeded the total number of employed persons resident in Malta region (by place of residence). The contrary prevailed in the case of Gozo and Comino region. The difference represents the net balance of commuter workers across the respective regions. Commuter workers were predominantly Gozo and Comino residents working in the Malta region, accounting to 5,511 employed persons during 2025. This implied that approximately one out of every five employed persons resident in Gozo and Comino region worked in the Malta region and 52.8 per cent were males (Tables 1 and 2).

In 2025, the highest proportion of employed persons in MALTA were in wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food service activities (G, H and I) and the public administration and defence; compulsory social security; education; human health and social work activities (O, P and Q), at 26.1 and 20.5 per cent respectively (Tables 1 and 2).

The highest proportion of employed persons resident in Malta region worked in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food service activities (G, H and I) at 26.3 per cent, while the majority of employed persons resident in Gozo and Comino worked in the public administration and defence; compulsory social security; education; human health and social work activities (O, P and Q) at 29.7 per cent (Table 1).

Full-time employment: Malta region

By place of residence

In 2025, Malta residents who worked on a full-time basis reached 283,472, an increase of 4.7 per cent when compared to 2024 (Table 3). The private sector amounted to 82.8 per cent of the total, while the remaining worked in the public sector (Chart 1).

Employment by Sector — Residence vs Work

Chart 1. Full-time employment by region (NUTS 3), sector and location

By place of work

Full-time employment in Malta region in 2025 stood at 288,887, reflecting an increase of 4.8 per cent over 2024. Full-time employment in the private sector accounted for 82.2 per cent of the total, the remaining 17.8 per cent being in the public sector (Table 4 and Chart 1). The males who worked in the private sector accounted for 51.4 per cent of total full-time employment in Malta region (Table 4). The highest proportion of full-time employment in Malta region was registered in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food service activities (G, H and I) which accounted for 25.4 per cent of the total (Chart 5).

Full-time employment: Gozo and Comino region

By place of residence

In 2025, Gozo and Comino residents with a full-time job totalled 20,754, reflecting an increase of 5.7 per cent when compared to 2024. The private sector accounted for 68.0 per cent of the total (Table 3 and Chart 1).

The largest share of Gozo and Comino residents with a full-time job in the public sector was in the public administration and defence; compulsory social security; education; human health and social work activities (O, P and Q), amounting to 80.7 per cent of total public sector. On the other hand, the largest proportion of full-time employed Gozo and Comino residents in the private sector worked in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food service activities (G, H and I), accounting to 30.6 per cent of total private sector (Chart 4a). In addition, the males who were Gozo and Comino residents and worked full-time were predominantly employed in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food service activities (G, H and I) while the majority of females worked in the public administration and defence; compulsory social security; education; human health and social work activities (O, P and Q) (Chart 4c).

By place of work

In 2025, full-time employment in Gozo and Comino region amounted to 15,339, an increase of 4.4 per cent when compared to 2024 (Table 4). Full-time employment in the private sector accounted for 72.3 per cent of the total and the males who worked in this sector accounted for 44.9 per cent of total full-time employment in Gozo and Comino region (Charts 1, 2 and Table 4). The largest share of full-time employment in the private sector was in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food service activities (G, H and I) at 33.7 per cent. In the public sector, the share of public administration and defence; compulsory social security; education; human health and social work activities (O, P and Q) accounted for 77.0 per cent (Chart 4b). Full-time males in the Gozo and Comino region were predominantly employed in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food service activities (G, H and I) while the females were mainly employed in the public administration and defence; compulsory social security; education; human health and social work activities (O, P and Q) (Chart 4d).

Full-time Gozo and Comino residents working in Malta region

In 2025, Gozo and Comino residents employed on a full-time basis in Malta region totalled 4,946, of which, 45.9 per cent worked in the public sector and the remaining worked in the private sector (Tables 3, 4 and Charts 3a-b). The males who worked in the private sector accounted for 34.8 per cent of the total full-time employment of Gozo and Comino residents in Malta region while the females who worked in the public sector accounted for 26.5 per cent of the total (Chart 3b).

Chart 3a

Chart 3b

Note: totals may not add up due to rounding.

Part-time employment of Gozo and Comino residents

The percentage distribution of the part-time employment differed throughout all economic activities. In 2025, total part-time employment of Gozo and Comino residents amounted to 7,793 of which, 63.1 per cent were part-time secondary employment and the remaining were part-time primary (Table 3). The largest share of part-time employment of Gozo and Comino residents was registered in wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food service activities (G, H and I), contributing to 29.8 per cent of the total. This featured in both part-time primary and secondary (Chart 6).

Employment in jobs

In 2025, jobs by full-time private sector employees in Malta and Gozo and Comino regions accounted for 56.6 and 38.3 per cent of total jobs respectively. Full-time self-employed jobs in Malta and Gozo and Comino regions accounted for 8.1 and 10.9 per cent of total jobs respectively. Total part-time employment in Malta and Gozo and Comino regions stood at 78,611 and 7,228 respectively, accounting for 21.4 and 32.0 per cent of total jobs within the respective region. The differences in the distribution of jobs (by sector, type and sex) by place of residence and place of work were mainly attributable to the significant amount of Gozo and Comino residents working in Malta region (Tables 3 and 4).

Persons registering for work, by district (LAU 1)

In 2025, the largest shares (25.8 per cent) of unemployed persons resided in the Southern Harbour and Northern Harbour districts, both amounting to 319 persons (Table 5). The largest proportion of unemployed persons featured in the 40-49 years age bracket, accounting to 25.7 per cent of the total. In terms of unemployment duration, all the districts registered the highest proportions in the 0 to 12 weeks cohort.

Gozo and Comino Employment Charts

Select chart:

Part-time employment – Gozo & Comino (2024)

Tables

Methodological Notes

1. All data in this News Release are in line with the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) (ISBN 978-92-79-31242-7) and the manual on Regional Accounts Methods (ISBN 978-92-79-32357-7). The European System of National and Regional Accounts is an internationally compatible accounting framework for a systematic and detailed description of a total economy (whether this is a region, a country, or a group of countries), its components, and its relations with other total economies. Regional accounts are a regional specification of the corresponding accounts of the total economy.

2. The data provided in this release, including the relevant classifications, is based on administrative records held at Jobsplus and on the latest data published by the National Statistics Office i.e. News Release 089/2025 (issued on 14 May 2025) and News Release 089/2026 (issued on 19 May 2026). The information contained in this release is subject to revisions.

3. Full-time and part-time status is determined by the employer’s declaration (or that made by a self-employed person) in the engagement form which is required to be sent to Jobsplus upon commencement of employment.

4a. Employment by place of work takes into account those persons who effectively work in the regions of Malta and Gozo and Comino respectively, irrespective of their locality/region of residence.

b. Employment by place of residence is based on employee residence as declared by the employer upon engagement with Jobsplus.

c. Gozo and Comino residents Commuter Workers (employed persons) is calculated using the following formula: Gozo and Comino Total employed persons by place of residence (Table 1) – Gozo and Comino Total employed persons by place of work (Table 2) – Maltese residents working in the Gozo and Comino region.

d. Gozo and Comino residents Commuter Workers (full-time employment) is calculated using the following formula: Gozo and Comino full-time employment by place of residence (Table 3) – Gozo and Comino full-time employment by place of work (Table 4) – Maltese residents working in the Gozo and Comino region.

During 2025, the total number of Maltese residents working in Gozo and Comino region amounted to 469 (314 males and 155 females).

5. Registered Unemployed provides data on the number of persons actively seeking work through Jobsplus. The data includes Part I and Part II of the unemployment register:

a. Part I of the unemployment register includes new job seekers who have left school, re-entrants into the labour market and individuals who have been made redundant by their former employers.

b. Part II of the unemployment register includes workers who have been dismissed from work due to disciplinary action, left work out of their own free will, refused work or training opportunities or were struck off the register after an inspection by the Law Enforcement personnel.

6. Labour Supply comprises the full-time registered employed population and the registered unemployed population.

7. Statistical Regions and Districts of MALTA.

The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) is a hierarchical classification which divides the economic territory of the European Union for the purpose of producing regional statistics that are comparable across the European Union (NUTS 1 to 3 levels). To meet the demand for statistics at a local level, Eurostat has created a system of Local Administrative Units (LAUs) that is compatible with NUTS.

NUTS 1 – MALTA

NUTS 2 – MALTA

NUTS 3 – Malta Region

Gozo and Comino Region

As indicated above NUTS 3 divides MALTA into two regions. In addition, LAU 1 divides MALTA into six districts and LAU 2 into 68 localities.

8. The industry classification of this news release is being published at NACE Rev. 2 at A*10/11.

9. A detailed news release calendar is available online.

10. References to this news release are to be cited appropriately. For guidance on access and re-use of data please visit our dedicated webpage.

11. For further assistance send your request through our online request form.

Salient Points

Commentary

Chart 1. Full-time employment by region (NUTS 3), sector and location

Tables

Methodological Notes

Labour Market

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