Back to the Future
Last Wednesday, together with Dr Roberta Lepre and Dr Andre’ Borg, I was invited to participate in the discussion programme Iswed fuq l-Abjad on NET TV, hosted by Frank Psaila.
info@peopleatwork.com.mt he subject was the Household Budgetary Survey (HBS) recently published by the National Statistics Office (NSO). The HBS provides a wealth of information and gives a true picture of the changes in our society. The survey was conducted between April 2015 and March 2016 but, unfortunately, the findings were only released for public consumption late last January – 22 months after the data was collected.
The late release of the data collected will, without a shadow of doubt, cast the laborious work carried out by the NSO in a negative light. The primary aim of the HBS, which is carried out every five years, is to identify the expenditure patterns of Maltese households, among other things. Policy-makers, together with the other social partners – employers’ organisations, trade unions and other special interest groups – cannot devise effective policies targeting vulnerable people without sound information in hand or, for that matter, outdated information. A lot can change in 22 months, for both better and worse, without policy-makers noticing that their intervention is necessary. The onesize-fits-all policy should be tweaked to address particular circumstances.
One must keep in mind that the figures indicated in the HBS represent people, and it would be money down the drain if the competent authorities and policy-makers failed to acknowledge this. It is easy to forget that behind the numbers are people with different needs and aspirations.
I will not go into the details of the 2015 Household Budgetary Survey, but will refer to just two indicators, one of which needs further analysis to ensure that those in need are provided the necessary safety net and solidarity to prevent them from falling even deeper into the poverty trap. The other indicator is very encouraging.
The total annual expenditure of Maltese private households in 2015 was estimated at €3.7 billion – an average of €22,346 per household, which is 14.2 per cent higher than that estimated in the 2008 HBS. In 2015, the weekly minimum wage was €166.26, or €8,645.52 a year. This accounts for a substantial shortfall when considering average expenditure, particularly when it comes to those earning the minimum wage and others in the low-income bracket, who in 2015 earned around €8,800 a year. These figures illustrate the veracity of an ever-growing number of households that cannot make ends meet.
A positive indicator that emerged from the 2015 HBS when compared to the 2008 HBS was in education. While Maltese households spent €7 per week on education in 2008, this almost doubled and rose to €12 per week in 2015. This is a significant increase and is, undoubtedly, money well invested. The only drawback, if one were to nitpick, is that the already well-educated spend more on education than those most in need of such investment. Nonetheless, this is undeniably a positive trend which will hopefully continue.
But the million-dollar question is whether we are laying the foundations for a prosperous future. Over the years, our economy has weathered harsh, global economic and financial woes, yet has consistently improved, along with employment opportunities.
This brings me to the subject which urgently needs to be addressed today. What will the labour market look like twenty years from now? What industries can we attract and what lucrative employment opportunities will be available for our workforce? These are some of the questions which the competent authorities and policy-makers should be able to answer today.
While the economy is booming and our human resources are stretched to the limit – to the extent that around 30,000 foreign workers have had to be brought over to support the completion of various projects – it is unlikely that this situation will prevail in the long run. Economic cycles tend swing back and forth but are also a bit like relay races – one needs to have something to pass on to whoever comes next.
The construction industry has emerged as a strong economic driver, the multiplier of which is a thousandfold. But this over-development cannot be sustained for much longer, unless we’re willing to replace our local character with a concrete jungle.
The Individual Investor Programme has also brought a stream of cash to the national coffers; however, this is a oneoff programme and the sale of Maltese passports cannot be taken as a long-term business model. This programme has also shown Malta in bad light, with various stakeholders interested in investing in new business ventures.
Future employment opportunities lie in artificial intelligence, drones, wearables, mobile payments, cryptocurrencies, genomics and 3D printing; but where do we stand on these fronts? The competent authorities should be proactive in seeking new employment opportunities, and statistics should be a tool to help gauge where to invest energy, time, resources and funds. While the HBS gives us a glimpse into what was, its usefulness is in helping us to plan for the future.