Since Q2 2016, the employment rate in Latvia has increased by 0.8%. In Q2 Latvian employment rate (62.6%) was the highest recorded since Q2 2008 (63.1%).
In Q2 in Latvia there were 891.7 thousand employed persons aged 15-74. Compared to the previous quarter, in Q2 the employment rate rose by 1%, while the number of employed persons by 9.2 thousand. The most significant increase in the number of employed persons was recorded in manufacturing, education, arts, entertainment and recreation, accommodation and food service activities, as well as administrative and support service activities, according to results of the Labor Force Survey conducted by the Central Statistical Bureau.
Nonetheless since the end of 2012 Latvian employment rate has been exceeding the European Union (EU) average (58.9% in the first quarter of 2017), in Q2 it was the lowest rate recorded among the Baltic states (66.9% in Estonia and 63.6% in Lithuania).
In Q2 2017, the employment rate among young people (aged 15-24) constituted 35.8%, which is 3.6% higher than in the corresponding period a year before. The number of employed young people accounted for 64.6 thousand (63 thousand in Q2 2016).
In Q2 2017, persons employed in the main job worked on average 37.7 hours per week – 0.8 hours fewer than in Q2 2016.
The Labor Force Survey data show that, compared to Q2 2016, in Q2 2017 the share of employees receiving less than 450.00 euros monthly (after taxes) reduced to 39.2% (a drop of 5.9%). The proportion of employees receiving minimum monthly wage or less constituted 148.2 thousand or 18.9% (reduction of 2% over the year).The share of employees receiving 450.01-700 euros monthly rose by 1.7% (31.8% in Q2 2017) and that of employees receiving 700.01-700 euros monthly increased by 2.4% (19.7% in Q2 2017). In its turn, the proportion of employees receiving more than 1400 euros monthly grew by 1.2% (3.7% in Q2 2017). Wage or salary of 3.4% of employees was not calculated or paid, while 2.2% did not indicate the size of earnings thereof.
In Q2 2017, the Labor Force Survey covered 4.1 thousand households, in which 7.6 thousand persons aged 15-74 were interviewed. (BNN/Business World Magazine)
