According to Statistics Estonia, in the 1st quarter of 2018, the Dwelling Price Index changed by 1.5% compared to the 4th quarter of 2017 and by 6.6% compared to the 1st quarter of previous year.

This year, the Albert Pullerits young statistician’s grant was awarded to Sven Erik Ojavee from the Institute of Mathematics and Statistics of the University of Tartu. The aim of the grant is to motivate young people to apply and develop statistical methods.

According to Statistics Estonia, in May 2018, the producer price index of industrial output changed by 0.1% compared to April and by 1.9% compared to May 2017.

The total area of utilised agricultural land did not change considerably in 2017. Production of field crops was higher than in the previous year, but a lot of production was not harvested. The number of pigs increased and the number of cattle also increased slightly. Less meat but more milk and eggs were produced than in the previous year.

In 2017, the social protection field was mostly characterised by growth trends: the average old-age pension exceeded 400 euros, labour market measures are being used more and there is a greater variety of them, the expenditure on family allowances increased and new allowances for large families were added. The number of old-age pensioners and subsistence benefit recipients has declined.

According to Statistics Estonia, in 2017, cinema attendance set a new record, surpassing 3.5 million visits for the first time. Cinema attendance has doubled in the last ten years. The rising popularity of cinemas can be explained by an increase in the number of cinemas and a wider selection of films as well as by the generally higher living standard.

Economic growth in Estonia was broad-based. In the previous years, the growth was largely due to internal consumption, whereas in 2017, the growth became more broad‑based. The role of household consumption decreased. After years of decline, investments began to increase again as a result of improved economic climate, indicating a positive mind-set of entrepreneurs.

According to Statistics Estonia, in April 2018, the exports of goods increased by 16% and imports by 13% compared to April 2017. The growth in trade in April of this year was broad-based, with increased exports and imports in both mineral products and mechanical appliances.

2017 was a record year in world tourism. More foreign tourists visited Estonia than in any of the previous years. 3.5 million domestic and foreign tourists stayed in Estonian accommodation establishments. There were 7% more tourists in accommodation establishments than a year earlier, including 9% more domestic tourists and 5% more foreign tourists. Of those staying in accommodation establishments, by country of residence, the number of Estonian residents increased the most, and of foreign tourists, more tourists arrived from Russia and Latvia. The total number of domestic and foreign tourists who stayed in accommodation establishments set a new record already for the eighth consecutive year.

According to Statistics Estonia, there were nearly 10,600 job vacancies in the enterprises, institutions and organisations of Estonia in the 1st quarter of 2018. The number of job vacancies did not change compared to the previous quarter but decreased by 6% compared to the 1st quarter of 2017. The number of job vacancies has exceeded 10,000 in the past five quarters.

According to Statistics Estonia, the change of the consumer price index in May 2018 was 0.3% compared to April 2018 and 3.0% compared to May of the previous year.

In 2017, the unemployment rate was 5.8%, the employment rate 67.5% and the labour force participation rate 71.6%. The labour force participation rate increased by 1.2 percentage points and the employment rate by 1.9 percentage points. The unemployment rate decreased by 1 percentage point. Employment and labour force participation remained high throughout 2017, reaching the highest levels in 20 years. The number of inactive persons continued to decline.