Malta needs an economy driven by productivity

Malta has an opportunity to take the next step in its economic development: moving from an economy that grew on the basis of an increasing workforce to one driven by productivity, skills, innovation and higher added value

The objective should be clear: a more productive economy, more competitive businesses, better wages and a higher quality of life for Maltese and Gozitan families.

The analysis being carried out on the Maltese economy, including that of the Malta Fiscal Advisory Council, continues to highlight the importance of making productivity a national economic priority.

As wages and labour costs continue to rise, Malta must ensure that the value created per hour worked rises with them. This is the foundation of an economy capable of sustaining increasingly better wages while maintaining and strengthening its competitiveness in international markets.

While the Partit Nazzjonalista recognises that Fitch Ratings recently affirmed Malta’s A+ rating with a stable outlook, we must now ask what Malta’s next economic step should be.

Economic success should not be measured solely by how much the economy has grown. Numbers alone can be misleading. Success must also be measured by how much more productive our workers and businesses have become, how many quality jobs are being created, how much real wages are rising and, above all, the extent to which this growth is leading to a better quality of life.

In recent years, a significant part of Malta’s economic growth has been sustained by a sharp increase in the number of people in the labour market, including through foreign workers who now contribute to various sectors of our economy.

The next step should be for Malta to create more value from every job, every business and every hour worked, thereby progressively reducing growth’s dependence on the need for a continuous increase in the number of workers. The Partit Nazzjonalista therefore maintains its position in favour of establishing a Population Levels Authority, together with a Population Levels Plan for Malta setting out, with input from experts in the field, the action required for Malta to change course and move in a better direction.

This is a change that can deliver tangible economic and social benefits.

Greater productivity means that a business can grow without having to increase its workforce at the same rate. It means that it can offer better wages while remaining competitive. It means more opportunities for quality jobs and greater scope for the economy to grow without the same rate of growth automatically translating into greater pressure on infrastructure, traffic, housing and services.

This should be our economic ambition: not simply growth in numbers, but growth within a better economy that translates into a better quality of life for people.

The Opposition believes that Malta should make productivity one of the main pillars of its economic policy for the years ahead.

This requires an economic environment in which businesses are encouraged and supported to invest more in technology, digitalisation and automation; where innovation becomes an integral part of how our enterprises grow; and where Maltese companies can expand their presence in international markets.

It also requires a much stronger link between education, training and the needs of the economy.

We must continue improving the skills of workers already in the labour market, prepare future generations for the jobs and sectors of tomorrow, and make lifelong learning and training a natural part of every worker’s career.

At the same time, Malta must be more ambitious in attracting and developing economic activities that generate higher added value, greater knowledge and quality careers.

Productivity should be the bridge between economic growth and a better quality of life.

When a worker is more productive, there is greater scope for better wages. When a business is more productive, it can compete, invest and grow. When an economy is more productive, it can create greater wealth without having to depend to the same extent on a continuous increase in the number of people.

This is where the Government needs to be more ambitious.

After years of economic growth driven by numbers, our country had an opportunity to begin this transition earlier. Today, we must ensure that we waste no more time and begin building the economic model Malta will need for the next ten and twenty years.

Malta should not aspire merely to have a larger economy. It should aspire to have a better one.

An economy that grows through knowledge, skills, innovation, technology and enterprise.

An economy in which businesses grow because they have become more productive and competitive; in which workers can earn more because their work is creating greater value; and in which success is ultimately measured not only by growth figures, but by the extent to which that growth is improving the lives of the Maltese and Gozitan people.

Darren Carabott
Shadow Minister for the Economy, Technology and Strategic Projects

28.08.2026