Number of unemployed persons fell by 5,600 year on year
According to Statistics Estonia, in the second quarter of 2022, the labour force participation rate was 73.1%, the employment rate was 68.8%, and the unemployment rate was 5.8%.
There were 41,700 unemployed persons in the second quarter, which is 5,600 less than at the same time last year but 2,100 more than in the first quarter of this year. 23,700 of the unemployed were men and 18,000 were women.
“The number of unemployed persons increased a little in the second quarter but, looking at recent years, it has been relatively low and mostly in decline overall,” said Katriin Põlluäär, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia.
In the second quarter, there were 9,000 persons who had been unemployed for more than a year – these are the long-term unemployed. “It has been some time since this indicator was so low. The last time that the number of the long-term unemployed was this small was at the beginning of the pandemic in the second quarter of 2020,” noted Põlluäär.
There were 673,500 employed persons in the second quarter, which is 31,600 more than in the second quarter last year. Of the employed, 337,100 were men and 336,400 were women. A quarter of employed persons have a job in the public sector (24%), while the majority (76%) work in the private sector.
84.8% of employed persons worked full-time, with the rest working part-time. The number of underemployed persons, i.e. persons who work part-time but would like to work more and are available for additional work within two weeks, was 6,800 in the second quarter.
In the second quarter of 2022, there were 263,200 inactive persons. This number included 116,400 men and 146,800 women. The main reasons for inactivity were retirement, studies and illness or disability.
“The number of inactive persons has decreased compared with the previous quarter and the same quarter of last year. There were 157,100 Estonians and 106,100 non-Estonians among inactive persons,” added Põlluäär.
The unemployment rate is the share of the unemployed in the labour force. The employment rate is the share of the employed in the population aged 15–74. The labour force participation rate shows the share of the labour force in the population aged 15–74.
The estimates are based on the data of the Labour Force Survey conducted by Statistics Estonia since 1995. Every quarter, 5,000 persons participate in the survey. The main representative of public interest for the survey is the Ministry of Social Affairs, commissioned by whom Statistics Estonia collects and analyses the data required for this statistical activity. Due to the requirements of the Integrated European Social Statistics (IESS) regulation, as of 2021, the Estonian Labour Force Survey is based on a new methodology.
Ukrainian refugees are not included in these statistics. More information about Ukrainians in the Estonian labour market can be found in the dedicated section of short-term statistics.
More detailed data have been published in the statistical database.
See also the labour market application of Statistics Estonia and the Ministry of Social Affairs: tooturg.stat.ee (in Estonian).
For further information:
Helen Maria Raadik
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9191