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Foreign Nationals Employment Trends

Under this section one can find detailed information on employment trends in the Maltese Islands of non-Maltese nationals based on information available at Jobsplus. Further analysis on latest information published is also made available here.  All information displayed in this section is available for download

Foreign Nationals Employment Trends

All Foreign Nationals Employed in Malta & Gozo

 1.1  Type of Employment of Foreign Nationals (2014-2024) 

Employment of EU Nationals 

 2.1  Top 10 Nationalities of Employed EU Nationals (as at end 2024)
 2.2  Employed EU Nationals by Age Cohorts (2014-2024)
 2.3  Employed EU Nationals by Employment Sector (2014-2024) 
2.4 Employed EU Nationals by Major Occupation Group (2014-2024)

Employment of Third Country Nationals 

 3.1

 Top 10 Nationalities of Employed Third Country Nationals (as at end Dec 2024)

3.2   Employed Third Country Nationals by Age Cohorts (2014-24) 
3.3

 Employed Third Country Nationals by Economic Sector (2014-24) 

3.4

 Employed Third Country Nationals by Main Occupation Group (2014-2024)

 


 

All Foreign Nationals Employed in Malta & Gozo

1.1 Type of Employment of Foreign Nationals (2014-2024)

Employed foreign nationals in Malta and Gozo at the end of 2024 amounted to 123,772.

Since the joining of the Maltese Islands in the European Union, employment of foreign nationals increased drastically. EU member states share 31% of total foreign employment, Third Country Nationals (TCNs) share 69% of total foreign employment; and EFTA countries (such as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) share 0.3% of total foreign employment.

As at end of December 2024, almost 89% of employed EU nationals were in full-time employment, while the remaining 11% were employed as part-time. 97% of TCNs were in full-time employment and 3% were in part-time employment.

Note: As at Dec 20 the number of employed EU nationals decreased while the number of employed TCNs increased. This shift mainly resulted since the United Kingdom left the EU. For statistical purposes as from February 2020 the United Kingdom is classified as TCN.

 

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Employment of EU Nationals in Malta & Gozo

In the following tables, EU Nationals will include: (a) those persons originating from EU Member States including their dependents who could be third country nationals; and (b) those persons who originate from EFTA countries and who therefore can be employed like EU Nationals based on the conditions agreed with the EU. 

2.1 Top 10 Nationalities of Employed EU Nationals (as at end Dec 2024) 

The following illustration provides the top 10 employed EU nationalities as at end December 2024.

 

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2.2 Employed EU Nationals by Age Cohorts  (2014-2024)

Employed EU Nationals are segmented as 58% males and 42% females. 69% of all EU nationals are aged between 30-54 years; followed by 13% in the 25-29 age cohort. Over the period under review, all the age cohorts have been increasing as the influx of EU nationals increased.

 

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2.3 Employed EU Nationals by Economic Sector (2014-2024)

EU nationals are mainly employed (24%) in the Professional, Scientific, Technical, Administration and Support Service Activities sector; followed closely by the Wholesale & Retail Trade; Transportation & Storage (21%); the Arts, Entertainment and Recreation sector (16%); and the Accommodation and Food Services Activities sector (10%). 

 

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2.4 Employed EU Nationals by Main Occupation Group (2014-2024)

EU nationals are mainly employed in occupations relating to the top five major groups of the ISCO-08 coding, namely: Clerks and Support Workers (21%); Service and Sales workers (13%); Professionals (18%); Managerial grades (15%); and Technical and Associate Professional Groups (16%). Over the past decade, these five major occupation groups have varied in their shares of total EU nationals employed in Malta and Gozo.

  

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Employment of Third Country Nationals in Malta & Gozo

In the following tables, Third Country Nationals will include: (a) those persons originating from non-EU Member States and who entered the Islands in a legal manner; and (b) those persons who are termed as irregular migrants, which consist of beneficiaries of national and international protection, Asylum Seekers and failed Asylum Seekers).

3.1 Top 10 Nationalities of Employed Third Country Nationals (as at end Dec 2024)

The following illustration provides the top 10 employed Third Country Nationals as at end December 2024. As one can notice from the below illustration, the top three nationalities who have been increasing gradually over the period under review are persons originating from India, Philippines and Nepal.




  

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3.2 Employed Third Country Nationals by Age Cohorts (2014-2024)

Employed Third Country Nationals are segmented as 67% males and 33% females. 67% of all Third Country Nationals are aged between 30-54 years; followed by 22% in the 25-29 age cohort. Over the period under review, all the age cohorts have been increasing as the influx of TCNs increased.

  

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3.3 Employed Third Country Nationals by Economic Sector (2014-2024)

Third Country Nationals are mainly employed (25%) in the Professional, Scientific, Technical, Administration and Support Service Activities sector; Accommodation and food service activities (16%); Public Administration, Education, Human Health and Social Work Activities sector (9%); Construction (11%); and the Wholesale & Retail Trade; Transportation & Storage; Information & Communication sector (21%).

 
  

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3.4 Employed Third Country Nationals by Main Occupation Group (2014-2024)

 Over one third of Third Country Nationals are mainly employed in jobs relating to Elementary occupations (27%). The next major occupation groups in which TCNs are mainly employed include Service and Sales workers (24%); Craft and related Trade Workers (10%); Technical and Associate Professionals (10%); and in Professional grades (8%).

 
  

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