Number of unemployed falls in second quarter of 2022

Text Mark Taylor
Photo Craig Whitehead / Unsplash

According to the latest data from Statistics Estonia, in the second quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate fell to 5.8% or 41,700 individuals.

In the second quarter of 2022 (April, May and June) there were 41,700 unemployed persons, which is 5,600 less than at the same time last year. However, this number is 2,100 more than in the first quarter of this year. Of those who were unemployed, 23,700 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, a 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. 

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.

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