Analytics, Baltic, Employment, Lithuania

The male unemployment rate in I quarter 2010 was 23.2, female – 13.1%. A higher male unemployment rate was conditioned by a rapid decrease in the number of persons employed in construction and industrial enterprises. In I quarter 2010, the urban unemployment rate was 16.6, rural – 21.8%. 

The youth (aged 15–24) unemployment rate in I quarter 2010 increased to 35.9%. Over a quarter, the youth unemployment rate grew by 6.8 percentage points, over a year – almost 1.5 times.

Unemployment in 2009–2010 by quarter

In I quarter 2010, according to the estimates of Statistics Lithuania, the number of the unemployed was 293.4 thousand, which is by 38.2 thousand more than in IV quarter 2009. Over a year, the number of the unemployed grew 1.5 times (by 99.5 thousand). 

In I quarter 2010, the number of the long-term unemployed, i.e. persons looking for a job for one year and longer, increased to 99.6 thousand. In IV quarter 2009, this figure stood at 71.7 thousand, a year ago – 38.1 thousand. 

In I quarter 2010, according to the data of the Lithuanian Labour Exchange, the average number of the registered unemployed was 298 thousand. A noticeable increase in the number of the unemployed registered at the labour exchange was observed at the end of the March, which was due to the obligation for the unemployed who are not registered at the labour exchange to pay compulsory health insurance contributions, set in the Law on Health Insurance of the Republic of Lithuania. 

With the increase in unemployment, the number of employed persons decreased. In I quarter 2010, the number of employed persons in the whole economy was 1 million 328 thousand, which is by 55.4 thousand (4%) less than in IV quarter 2009. The most marked decrease in the number of employed persons over a quarter was observed in construction – by 11.8 thousand, and industry – 10.3 thousand. 

In I quarter 2010, against I quarter 2009, the number of employed persons dropped by 104.7 thousand, or 7.3%. Over a year, the number of persons employed in construction dropped by 36.5, in industry – 12.4%.  

With the decrease in the number of employed persons, the employment rate declined as well. In I quarter 2010, the employment rate of the population aged 15–64 was 56.8%. Over a quarter, it dropped by 1.9, while over a year – by 4.2 percentage points. The male employment rate was 54.5, female – 58.9%. 

Unemployment rate in the Baltic States in 2009–2010 by quarter

In I quarter 2010, according to the data of statistical offices of the Baltic States, the lowest unemployment rate was observed in Lithuania (18.1%), the highest – in Latvia (20.4%), while in Estonia it stood at 19.8%. Over a year, the unemployment rate in Lithuania and Latvia grew 1.5, in Estonia – 1.7 times. 

Over I quarter 2010, 14.6 thousand persons, or 0.5% of the population aged 15 and over, were interviewed.  

A press release on the results of the Labour Force Survey for II quarter 2010 is due on 24 August 2010.