June 20 - Employment Survey Tabled And Published
A statement from the Government:
The October 2012 employment survey results have now been published and show the massive and unprecedented success of the policies introduced by the GSLP/Liberal Government on the 9th December 2011, by the increasing full time employment levels for Gibraltarians and other long term residents.
The number of Gibraltarians in full time employment has increased in the year between October 2011 and October 2012 by 524.
This is the highest ever increase in one year since records begun.
Indeed it far exceeds the increase in the whole 15 years of GSD Government during which the number of Gibraltarians in full time employment only went up by a mere 334, an average of little more than 22 a year.
In this same period, that is from 1996 to 2011, whereas the number of Gibraltarians held jobs grew by 334, the number of frontier workers in local employment rose by 6,436 from 1,153 to reach a record high of 7,589 in October 2011, an average of 506 a year.
This situation was raised consistently in every budget from the Opposition benches by Joe Bossano. The concerns expressed over those 15 years were repeatedly rejected by the then GSD Government who welcomed the increase in frontier workers. The GSDdefended the influx by claiming there were no Gibraltarians available or interested in the jobs on offer.
In one single year of GSLP/Liberal Government the previous GSD Government has been shown to have been wrong for fifteen years.
At 9,068, the number of Gibraltarians in full time employment in October 2012 was the highest ever since records started. In the same period the number of other British workers also rose by 167 to a record of 3,971.
The 2012 survey results at the same time shows a drop of 1,100 in frontier workers compared to the numbers in 2011. This drop is almost entirely accounted for by the reduction in the size of the construction sector which had grown enormously prior to the general election to reach 3,357. This was predominantly as a result of large construction projects paid for by the tax payer which were on-going in the month of October when the survey was conducted and involved very high levels of man power and overtime to complete the GSD projects (such as the air terminal) before the general election in December 2011.
The rest of the economy showed growth in employment levels in 2012 and it is expected that in 2013 the employment level in the construction sector will also increase as a result of GSLP/Liberal Government projects commencing. This may also produce some increase in frontier workers in this sector.
In spite of a very welcome increase in the number of Gibraltarians in employment in the first 12 months to October 2012 there are still currently between 450 and 500 Gibraltarians seeking employment. The policy of the Government is to continue to increase the number of Gibraltar residents in employment in the course of this year. The Government therefore expects that the 2013 survey results, when published next year, will again show a new record number of Gibraltarians and long term Gibraltar residents in jobs.
