Unemployment in Estonia drops to 5.7%

In Estonia, the level of unemployment has been decreasing steadily in 2021 and dropped to 5.7% the third quarter of the year, official statistics showed.
Statistics Estonia wrote in a press release on Monday, November 15, that in the third quarter of 2021, the labour force participation rate was 71.5%, the employment rate was 67.4%, and the unemployment rate was 5.7%.
In the third quarter, there were 39,900 unemployed persons, which is 7,400 persons less compared to the previous quarter. There were 23,100 unemployed men and 16,800 unemployed women, and a half of them have been unemployed for less than six months.
Katriin Põlluäär, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that unemployment is steadily moving towards the pre-crisis levels. «During the pandemic last year, unemployment rose by around 20,000 persons, but the last quarters have shown a steady decrease in unemployment numbers. There is still progress to make to reach the pre-pandemic level when the unemployment rate fluctuated between four to five percent, but we are close to it. Of course, an unknown factor is the effect of the coronavirus in the coming months,» added Põlluäär.
In the third quarter, the unemployment rate was 5.7%, which is the lowest this year. «The last time that the rate was so low was in the first quarter of last year, when it was 5.1%. However, just a year ago, the unemployment rate was 7.6%,» explained Põlluäär, according to the press release.