In Q3 2021 unemployment rate in Latvia constituted 7.2 %. Compared to the previous quarter, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.7 percentage points, but over the year – by 1.2 percentage points.
In Q3 this year, there were 67.9 thousand unemployed persons aged 15 to 74, which is by 13.5 thousand less than a year ago and by 5.5 thousand less than in the previous quarter. In the 2nd quarter of 2021, the unemployment rate in Latvia (7.9 %) was by 0.7 percentage points higher than the average in the European Union (7.2 %), according to data from the Labour Force Survey conducted by the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia (CSB).
In Q3 Latvia had the highest unemployment rate in the Baltic States – in Estonia the unemployment rate was 5.7 %, but in Lithuania – 6.7 %.
In Q3 2021, 33.8 thousand unemployed persons were out of job for up to 5 months. That is by 10.2 thousand less than a year ago, and by 3.8 thousand less than in the previous quarter. 11.3 thousand were unemployed for 6-11 months.
The number of unemployed persons has decreased compared to Q3 the previous year by 4.0 thousand and compared to the previous quarter – by 4.5 thousand.
In Q3 there were 22.6 thousand long-term unemployed persons – by 1.1 thousand more than a year ago and by 3.0 thousand more than in the previous quarter. The share of the long-term unemployed persons in the total number of unemployed was 33.4 % – 6.6 percentage points more than in the previous quarter. Compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, it has increased by 6.8 percentage points.
In Q3 2021, 13.4 % of all unemployed were young people (15 – 24 years of age). Their share increased by 2.6 percentage points over the year, and by 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous quarter. Youth unemployment rate was 14.9 %, which is by 0.1 percentage points higher than a year ago, but 1.8 percentage points lower than in the previous quarter. Over the year, the number of youth unemployed has increased by 0.3 thousand but decreased by 0.4 thousand compared to the previous quarter.35.6 % of all young people were active, i.e. employed or actively looking for work (unemployed), while 64.4 % of young people were inactive – mostly still studying and not looking for work.
In Q3 2021, almost one third (31.5 %) or 435.2 thousand population aged 15 – 74 were inactive, i.e. they were not employed and did not actively look for job. Compared to the previous quarter, the number of inactive population has decreased by 12.5 thousand or 2.8 %, but over the year – increased by 20.3 thousand or 4.9 %.
5.1 thousand or 1.2 % of the inactive population had lost hope of finding a job. For comparison, it was 2.5 % a year earlier, and 1.5 % in the 2nd quarter of 2021.
In Q3 2021, 4.5 thousand households participated in the Labour Force Survey on economic activity, in which 7.8 thousand people aged 15 – 89 were surveyed, including 4.1 thousand households in the age group of 15 – 74, in which 7.1 thousand persons were surveyed.
CSB: every third unemployed person in Latvia has been jobless for at least a year
