In December 2021, the actual unemployment rate in Latvia was 7.6%, up by 0.5% MoM.
The male unemployment rate rose by 0.7%, to 8.6%, while for females it increased by 0.3%, to 6.6%, according to data of the Labour Force Survey conducted by the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP).
The unemployment rate registered with the State Employment Agency was 6.7%, up by 0.3%.
“It should be noted that in November 2021, a requirement came into force whereby employed persons in public, municipal institutions and in the private sector whose work entailed an increased risk of exposure to Covid-19 could only continue to perform their duties with a certificate of vaccination or re-vaccination, thus potentially increasing the number of unemployed persons,” CSP reports.
Compared to December 2020, the actual unemployment rate decreased by 0.4% and the registered unemployment rate – by 1%.
In December 2021, there were 71.4 thousand unemployed persons (30.6 thousand females and 40.9 thousand males) in Latvia, up by 4.4 thousand MoM, but down by 4.4 thousand YoY. The number of unemployed males increased by 3.3 thousand during the month, while the number of unemployed females increased by 1.2 thousand. (BNN/Business World Magazine)