Long-term unemployment increased
According to Statistics Estonia, in the 1st quarter of 2011, the unemployed persons numbered 99,000 and the unemployment rate was 14.4%. More than a half of the unemployed are long-term unemployed who have been unemployed for a year or more.
The unemployment started to decrease rapidly in the last year but increased slightly in the 1st quarter of the current year. According to the data of the Labour Force Survey, the estimated number of unemployed persons, which decreased to 93,000 in the 4th quarter, increased by 6,000 in the 1st quarter of the current year. The unemployment rate, which rose to 19.8% at the beginning of 2010, decreased to 13.6% at the end of the year. At the beginning of the current year it increased to 14.4%.
In the 1st quarter, the long-term unemployment increased. The number of unemployed persons who had been looking for a job for two years or more rose to 56,000, of whom 27,000 had been looking for a job even for two years or more. The share of long-term unemployment increased to 57% in the 1st quarter of the current year. At the same time the number of persons who had been unemployed less than a year decreased continuously. This number has decreased by two times during the year – from 86,000 to 43,000.
Unemployed by duration of unemployment, 1st quarter 2008 – 1st quarter 2011
In the 1st quarter, the employed persons numbered 591,000, which is by 2,000 or 0.3% less compared to the previous quarter. Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, the number of employed persons increased by 38,000 or 6.8%. The employment has increased in most of the economic activities with a year. The employment growth was most influenced by manufacturing and construction, where the number of employed persons increased by 22,000 and 9,000, respectively, compared to the 1st quarter 2010.
Compared to the 4th quarter of 2010, the unemployment increased slightly due to decreased employment, but mainly due to the increasing economic activity of the population. The economically inactive persons numbered 339,000 in the 1st quarter 2011, which is by 9,000 less compared to the previous quarter. Among inactive persons the number of students, homemakers and retired persons decreased because the improved situation on the labour market has encouraged them to seek for a job. The number of persons inactive due to studies is decreasing also due to the decreasing number of young people in studying age. The discouraged persons or persons who had stopped seeking for a job numbered less than 10,000 in the 1st quarter, which is also less than in the previous quarter.
The unemployment rate is the share of the unemployed in the labour force (the sum of employed and unemployed persons). The estimates are based on the data of the Labour Force Survey. Statistics Estonia has been conducting the Labour Force Survey since 1995 and every quarter 5,000 persons participate in it. The Labour Force Survey is carried out by statistical organisations in all the European Union Member States on the basis of harmonised methodology.