Analytics, Employment, Latvia

The number of unemployed persons in Latvia continues to grow. The unemployment rate reached 7% in December or 1% more than a month ago.

The number of vacancies reduces faster than the unemployment rate grows.

Compared with the beginning of year 2008, the number of vacancies has shrunk by 82%. Currently there are 76,000 unemployed persons and only 3,200 officially registered vacancies in Latvia, thus, approximately 24 persons compete for one job position.

"The number of vacancies is very small in all of the country. Not even in the capital Riga can we offer a substantial number of job offers," the director of the State Employment Agency (SEA) Baiba Pasevica admitted in an interview to TV24/LETA Video.

As usually, the highest unemployment level is registered in Latgale Province, however, the situation has grown worse in all the regions, including the economically most active ones, Paskevica pointed out.

"Of course, I am very concerned about the few last months' statistics. That is, the high unemployment rates in Dobele Region, Liepaja City and Region, Ogre, Limbazi and Aizkraukle Districts – earlier them with low unemployment rates and enough high number of vacancies," SEA director said.

Also the global economic situation has had an impact on the growing unemployment rate. Not only local companies and state institutions make employees redundant, also foreign enterprises operating in Latvia are forced to sack staff.

"We see a number of foreign capital enterprises in Latvia fold. For example, companies, which operated in Incukalns, Aizkraukle, Dobele. This is an overall tendency," Pasevica said.