Malta: Three in ten inactive women choose personal life

Just under 32 percent of inactive women in the final quarter of last year said they were not working or looking for a job because of personal or family responsibilities. Data published by the National Statistics Office shows that there were 100,295 inactive women between October and December 2020.

The number of inactive men stood at slightly over 64,700, with more than 46,000 (71.1%) having either reached retirement or taken early retirement. Buy contrast, the share of women who were inactive for retirement reasons was 24.5 percent.

A third of women cited other reasons for inactivity while 10.2 percent said they were in education or training. Men in education or training accounted for 18.5 percent while less than eight percent cited other reasons.

The total number of inactive women and men was 165,008 for the period under survey, an increase of 343 from the same quarter in 2019. Inactive persons in the over 65 age group accounted for 52.5 percent in 2020, up from 51 percent the year before. The age bracket with the lowest rate of inactivity was the 45-54 range (4.7%) followed by 25-35 age bracket (4.9%).