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Some scholars have noted that Malta's unemployment system has created a dependency on the benefits provided by the system. From 1992-2005, there was an increase in the amount of recipients of both short-term and long-term benefits. Additionally, in 2016, 969 Maltese citizens were cut off the employment register for abusing the system. For these reasons, there has been movements from politicians to reduce and reshape the unemployment system. After the election of the Labour Party in 2013, number of people receiving unemployment benefits dropped by 75%. This same government introduced the "in-work" benefit which forces more people to work while helping the most poor and desperate.

In order to be eligible for in-work benefit applicants must first have children under the age of 23, and from that point, benefits vary depending on marital status and workers per family. For a single parent in employment who earns between €6,600 and €16,500, they are eligible for a maximum payable rate of up to €1,250 yearly per child. For a married couple whose collective income is between €10,000 and is less than €24,000 (the income of one of the spouses must be over €3,000), they are eligible for a maximum payment rate of up to €1,200 yearly per child. In 2016, the in-work benefit was extended to married couples where only one parent works, extending the benefit to an additional 3700 families. For a married couple with only one parent gainfully employed whose income is greater than €6,600 and less than €16,500, they are eligible for a maximum payable rate of up to €350 yearly per child. The in-work benefit is paid quarterly in January, April, July, and October.

At 42.3% in 2017, female labor participation rate in Malta is relatively low. For over half of Maltese women who stay out of the workforce altogether, they do not receive direct unemployment benefits. Rather, most unemployment benefits are given to men because to receive unemployment benefits, one must first be employed. However, because older women tend to stay out of the workforce, those women who do participate in the workforce tend to be younger and more educated. This has led to a lower long-term unemployment rate among women than men. In 2011, the long-term unemployment rate of women was 2.5% while the long-term unemployment rate of men was 3.3%.