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💸 US-MALTA TRADE DROPS IN 2025, ENDING RECORD GROWTH

✅ According to recently released national statistics, Malta's trade with the US fell sharply in the first two months of 2025 when compared to the same time in 2024.
→ Concerns over US President Donald Trump's ...tariffs, which took effect on Wednesday 9th April, are unlikely to be the cause.
→ These include a 20% charge on goods from the EU, which includes Malta.

✅ According to NSO numbers published on Wednesday, Malta exported only €23 million in goods to the US in January and February 2025.
→ Malta exported almost €151 million to the US over the same period previous year.
→ Imports also fell, going from €40.4 million last year to €16.5 million this year.

✅ However, last year's extraordinarily high export data appear to be a blip, as earlier years indicate rates comparable to 2025.
→ Statistics indicate a single export of shipping or aircraft to the United States in early 2024.
→ Over the course of the previous year, Malta imported €342 million and exported €272.5 million worth of goods to and from the US, both of which were far greater than in 2023.
→ In general, Malta's trade loss for the first two months of this year was €486 million, which is marginally less than the €502 million recorded at this time last year.

✅ It seems that Malta's expanding semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries account for a large portion of its exports to the US.
→ In its Vision 2050 paper, which was released on Tuesday, the government prioritised two industries.

✅ It should come as expected that Italy continues to be Malta's top trading partner; in January and February, Malta imported more goods from its Mediterranean neighbour than any other nation, totalling almost €237 million.
→ Additionally, Malta has maintained a robust export connection with Germany, shipping €108 million worth of goods to Germany in 2025 alone.

✅ A major amount of Malta's imports are energy-related, with about a quarter of all imports classified as "mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials," which includes petrol and petroleum.
→ Malta relies greatly on imports for machinery and transportation (€298 million), chemicals (€193 million), and food (€116 million).

Read the Article! 👇
https://timesofmalta.com/article/usmalta-trade-tumbles-2025-reversing-last-year-record-highs.1107899

💸 Malta's Alternative Success Metrics to GDP

✅ Malta's government is shifting its focus from traditional GDP measurements to assess success through wellbeing, disposable income, and education.
→ This initiative was announced during the unveiling of Vision 2050, ...Malta's strategic plan for the next 25 years.
→ The government is emphasizing three global criteria with specific targets tailored to Malta, aiming to create a "safe and resilient nation" that promotes a healthy quality of life for all citizens.

1️⃣ Human Development Index
→ The first metric is the UN's Human Development Index (HDI), which evaluates countries based on income, education, and life expectancy.
→ Currently, Malta ranks 25th on the HDI, having improved from 39th in 2014.
→ The ambitious goal is to break into the top 20 by 2035 and the top 10 by 2050, reflecting a commitment to enhancing overall human development.

2️⃣ Median Income
→ The government aims to enhance income levels by using the EU's median disposable income as a benchmark.
→ The current median wage in Malta stands at €18,940, which is slightly below the EU average.
→ By 2035, the government projects this will increase to 115% of the EU median, and further to 135% by 2050, bringing Maltese wages in line with those in France and the Nordic countries.

✅ Overall, the economy is expected to expand, although at a more gradual pace.
→ GDP will continue to serve as a crucial performance indicator.
→ Economic growth is anticipated to slow from an average of 10% annually to around 5% over the next decade.
→ The economy, which generated over €20.5 billion in the last decade, is projected to reach €38 billion by 2035, largely driven by sectors such as high-end manufacturing, financial services, and aviation.

✅ Tourism and construction are also set to grow, though at a slower rate.
→ By 2035, the number of tourists is expected to reach 4.5 million, nearly a million more than today, with a focus on doubling the amount spent by tourists each night.
→ The construction industry is projected to grow at a rate of 6 to 7%, down from the 10% growth seen since 2013, indicating a more sustainable approach to development.

Read the Article! 👇
https://timesofmalta.com/article/what-malta-plans-measure-instead-gdp-track-success.1107841

💸 MISCARRIAGE LEAVE PROPOSAL IN GOVERNMENT TALKS

✅ The prime minister stated on Sunday that the government is debating how to provide paid leave to workers who experience a miscarriage.
→ Robert Abela stated that the government was debating how to proceed with offering paid ...leave to couples who were going through a challenging time following a miscarriage during a panel discussion on "Challenging stereotypes, creating opportunities", organised by Nisa Laburtisti.
→ If an employee is unable to report to work due to a miscarriage, they may apply for sick leave, as Maltese law does not currently offer any particular leave in this regard.

✅ Andy Ellul, the Parliamentary Secretary for Social Dialogue, coordinated the talks, according to Abela.
→ Abela stated “We want to introduce this special leave to improve the quality of life for couples, I have met medical experts at Mater Dei Hospital to discuss how we can address these pockets in our society and help such couples.”

✅ A stillbirth occurs after the first 23 weeks of pregnancy, whereas a miscarriage occurs during the first 23 weeks.
→ The UK NHS states that "a miscarriage can be an emotionally and physically draining experience," which can cause the impacted women to feel shocked, angry, and guilty.
→ In 2023, telecom company GO began providing its employees who suffer a miscarriage, stillbirth, or unsuccessful IVF with up to four weeks of paid leave for pregnancy loss.
→ In contrast to other countries like the UK, where women were facing "period poverty," Abela said on Sunday that the government has lowered the VAT on all menstrual products and medical cancer accessories for women.

✅ He also mentioned that this weekend celebrated the 12th anniversary of a Labour government, and that his party has always supported equality and social rights.
→ According to him, the government's primary accomplishment over the past 12 years has been a 30% increase in the employment rate of women.
→ Abela said “You may ask if we achieved everything, and I say that the road is long and we have more incentives to introduce and challenges to face,”.

Read the Article! 👇
https://timesofmalta.com/article/government-discussing-introduction-miscarriage-leave-pm.1106292

💸 MALTESE WAGES BELOW MOST EU NATIONS

✅ New data shows Maltese workers earn less per hour than all but four EU nations.
→ Eurostat's data indicates that workers in Malta make just €14.20 per hour before taxes, less than half the EU average of €31.80.
→ The ...only countries with lower wages are Romania, Hungary, and Latvia, with Bulgaria last at €9.30 per hour.

✅ Portugal is the only Western or Central European country with similar wages, at €17 per hour.
→ In neighboring Italy, workers earn €29.80 per hour, double Malta's rate.
→ Luxembourg tops the ranking at €53.90 per hour, followed by Denmark, Iceland, and Norway.

✅ Since 2016, wages have risen across Europe, except in Malta.
→ Malta's salaries have remained unchanged since reaching €14.20 last year, after falling to €13.20 in 2020.
→ Earnings rose from €11.80 to €14.20 between 2012 and 2016 but have since stagnated.

✅ In 2016, 11 countries paid less than Malta, but seven have since surpassed it.
→ Overall, EU earnings rose by over 5% in 2023.
→ Malta's low wages are a persistent frustration, and rising living costs have worsened financial stability.
→ KPMG's evaluation indicates that purchasing power has declined as wage increases have been outpaced by inflation.

✅ Three opposition MPs claimed Eurostat data shows the failure of the government's low-cost labor strategy.
→ MPs Jerome Caruana Cilia, Ivan J. Bartolo, and Ivan Castillo stated that this model harms essential sectors like education, health, and infrastructure.

✅ The Labour Party argued that wages have increased and responsibilities decreased under the current administration.
→ Recent data indicated that Malta's workers' pay ranks 12th in the EU.
→ The government has also reduced costs for public transport and childcare.
→ The Labour Force Survey for Q4 2023 revealed a 25% wage increase since 2016, with Eurostat showing continued income growth.

Read the Article! 👇
https://timesofmalta.com/article/maltese-wages-lower-eu-countries-eurostat.1090272

💸 FEBRUARY TAX DROPPED DUE TO EARLY PAYMENT

✅ Finance Minister Clyde Caruana told parliament on Wednesday that the government's financial performance and goals were unaffected by the significant decline in income tax collection in February, which was mainly caused by a generous ...payment that had been paid three months previously.
→ The minister noted that the government revenue for the year is projected to exceed initial predictions, saying that the deficit would remain far below the objective and the national debt will drop in comparison to the previous year.

✅ He stated that the deficit would be well below the 3% limit set by the European Union by the following year.
→ The national debt would also shrink to around 50% of GDP, with the government maintaining its objective of 40%.

✅ Caruana noted that tax collection fell by €180 million in February, however, it was a monetary management issue.
→ The fall in February was caused by a significant early payment, which increased income tax receipts in December by €369 million to €617 million in that month alone.
→ This early payment bolstered government finances and allowed it to postpone bond issuance by two months.

✅ Caruana stated that the economy is thriving and that the government will maintain its policies, such as power subsidies and support, despite pressure from the EU.
→ Malta's response, he argued, was to fully implement the Economic Governance Framework.

Read the Article! 👇
https://timesofmalta.com/article/tax-revenue-drop-february-caused-major-early-payment-december.1107553

💸 EMPLOYMENT INCREASED IN THE LAST QUARTER OF 2024

✅ According to data released on Thursday by the National Statistics Office (NSO), employment grew 4.2% in the last quarter of 2024 when compared to the same period the previous year.
→ Between October and December, 325.631 ...people were employed, which is equivalent to two-thirds of the population that are 15 or older.
→ In the meantime, over 9.500 were unemployed people and around 160.000 inactive people.

✅ According to the NSO,81 out of every 100 people, aged between 15 and 65, were employed.
→ The employment rates for men was just under 87%, while employed women stood at just below 74%.
→ It pointed out that the biggest proportion of employed people were between the ages of 25 and 34.

✅ During the period under review, there were around 290.000 full-time employees, and over 36.000 people primarily worked part-time.
→ Less than 14 percent of workers were self-employed.
→ Part-timers typically worked 23.1 hours per week, and full-timers typically worked 41.1 hours.
→ Additionally, the average hours worked per week have increased to 34.7, up by 1.9 hours from the same quarter last year.

✅ During the review period, the average monthly basic pay was slightly under €2,000, with the financial and insurance industries recording the highest salaries.
→ The NSO reported that average salaries varied from €1,239 for elementary jobs to €3,170 for managerial positions.

Read the Article! 👇
https://timesofmalta.com/article/employment-rose-last-quarter-last-year.1106513

💸 EU GENDER PAY GAP RULES COVER 0.2% OF MALTESE FIRMS

✅ According to a new EU pay transparency guideline, only 0.2% of Malta's companies would be required to submit yearly reports on their gender pay disparities.
→ Malta and other member states are required to incorporate ...the EU Pay Transparency Directive into their laws by June 2026.

✅ The directive contains a number of provisions that are applicable to all businesses, regardless of size.
→ However, employers are required to reveal the starting salary or salary range in job postings or prior to interviews, and they are not allowed to forbid workers from discussing or sharing salary information with coworkers.
→ Employees are entitled to enquire about their own compensation as well as the average salary for similar or identical jobs, broken down by gender.
→ In the event that an employee files a pay discrimination case, the responsibility to prove that there is no discrimination shifts to the employer.

✅ Only businesses with 250 or more employees are required to disclose reports on annual gender pay discrepancies.
→ Every three years, companies employing between 100 and 249 employees must publish a report.
→ Small and medium-sized firms dominate the Maltese business scene; according to data from 2022, 107 companies, or 0.2% of all companies, employ 250 or more people.
→ The remaining companies in Malta are not required to issue reports, but they are free to do so.

✅ During an International Women's Day press conference, the General Workers Union and scholars Mary Grace Vella and Yana Mintoff urged the government to successfully enact the policy.
→ "Despite its criminalisation, pay discrimination is still directly and indirectly gendered" they said, noting instances including gendered caregiving obligations, the deficiency of work-life balance programs, and restricted professional advancement and social mobility prospects.
→ "More transparency enables better salaries and provides women with more leverage in negotiations, which are usually more challenging for women," Mintoff explained in response to Vella's observation that gender pay disparity is lessened when corporations and employers are required to become more transparent.

✅ The gender pay gap in Malta was 10.2% in 2022, which indicates that women made 10.2% less per hour on average than males.
→ Josef Bugeja, the president of GWU, observed that highly structured and controlled industries, like the public sector, typically have greater gender parity.
→ However, studies indicate that there are significant gender pay disparities in Malta's less regulated white-collar sectors, like real estate, banking, and law, he added.

Read the Article! 👇
https://timesofmalta.com/article/eu-rules-gender-pay-gap-reporting-apply-02-per-cent-maltese-firms.1106271

💸 RISE IN FULL-TIME JOBS & OPPORTUNITIES

✅ The National Statistics Office released data on Friday showing an increase in both registered full-time employment and job openings.
→ In October 2024, there were 290.857 registered full-time jobs, a 4.2% increase over the same ...month the year before.
→ The number of individuals registered as having part-time work as their primary occupation increased by 5.9%.
→ Full-time employment in the public sector increased by 3.2%, while full-time employment in the private sector increased by 4.5%

✅ The increase in full-time work also showed a notable gender gap, with women gaining full-time employment by 4.9% and males gaining full-time employment by 3.8%.
→ The majority of full-time occupations were in the retail and wholesale commerce, auto and motorcycle maintenance, and lodging and food service industries.

✅ In the meantime, the quarterly Job Vacancy Survey showed that there were 7.892 job openings in the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase of 3.4%.
→ The wholesale and retail trade, transportation and storage, lodging and food services, as well as professional, scientific, technical, administrative, and support services, accounted for over half of the available positions.
→ In contrast, the real estate industry had the fewest job openings, accounting for only 1.6% of all application requests in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Read the Article! 👇
https://timesofmalta.com/article/full-time-employment-job-vacancies.1106576

💸 EUROPE'S ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: KEY RISKS & OPPORTUNITIES

This article serves as a continuation of the previous pieces published on Thursday, 13 March 2025 and Tuesday, 18 March 2025, regarding the latest EY ‘European Economic Outlook’.

✅ With the outcome of the US... elections somewhat raising the risk of inflation and tipping the scales against GDP growth, a number of major dangers threaten Europe's economic prospects, with the the following key risk factors:
→ Possible higher tariffs that would affect European exports, particularly in economies with a significant manufacturing sector. A separate examination of these tariffs and their possible impacts has been carried out by EY.
→ Prolonged hostilities in the Middle East and Ukraine could cause supply chain interruptions and spikes in commodity prices.
→ The European industrial downturn could be made worse by rising energy prices and Chinese competition.
→ Uncertainty could make consumers and businesses cautious, which would slow recovery. Food and energy supply may be disrupted by weather and political upheaval, which would increase inflation and limit GDP.
→ Southern European and emerging market nations with high debt levels are nevertheless susceptible to bond market pressures, especially since inflation no longer reduces debt loads.

✅ Despite these risks, Europe has opportunities for stronger growth, such as:
→ Households may spend excess savings from the pandemic, boosting economic activity.
→ Tight labour markets may encourage investments in automation, artificial intelligence, and robotics, increasing productivity and growth.
→ A faster decline in services inflation and stable core goods prices could enhance household spending and enable central banks to cut rates, stimulating growth. Increased immigration may help long-term growth and ease employment shortages.

✅ Europe's growth is expected to moderately accelerate in 2025, despite challenges from inflation, geopolitical threats, and global economic uncertainties.
→ Navigating these dangers and seizing opportunities will be essential to a more robust recovery.

Read the Article! 👇

https://timesofmalta.com/article/europe-economic-outlook-2025-modest-recovery-amid-risks.1105169