Latvian unemployment rate 6.4 % in Q1 2023
Results of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) conducted by Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia (CSB) show that in Q1 2023 Latvian unemployment rate constituted 6.4 %. Over the quarter it fell by 0.3 percentage points and over the year by 0.9 percentage points.
In Q1 2023 there were 59.8 thousand unemployed persons aged 15–74 (incl.), which is 8.2 thousand fewer than a year ago and 3.7 thousand fewer than in the previous quarter.
Number of unemployed persons
(thousand)
| Q1 2023 | 2022 | Change in Q1 2023, compared to | ||||
Q1 | Q4 | Q1 | Q4 | ||||
thousand | % | thousand | % | ||||
Total (aged 15–74) | 59.8 | 68.0 | 63.5 | -8.2 | -12.1 | -3.7 | -5.8 |
males | 34.9 | 39.1 | 39.6 | -4.2 | -10.7 | -4.7 | -11.9 |
females | 24.9 | 28.9 | 23.9 | -4.0 | -13.8 | 1.0 | 4.2 |
Young people (aged 15–24) | 8.6 | 6.9 | 10.3 | 1.7 | 24.6 | -1.7 | -16.5 |
Refer to the OSP database: NBB160c
In Q4 2022 Latvian unemployment rate (6.7 %) was 0.6 percentage points above the EU average (6.1 %). In Q1 2023 it was higher than in Estonia (5.3 %) and lower than Lithuania (7.7 %).
Refer to the Eurostat database: LFSQ_URGAED, data on the Q1 2023 – OSP database: NBB160c, results of the LFS conducted Lithuania and Estonia.
Larger proportion of long-term unemployed
In Q1 2023, 33.9 thousand unemployed persons did not have a job for up to five months, which is 2.3 thousand fewer than a year ago and 0.4 thousand more than in the previous quarter. Persons unemployed for 6–11 months accounted for 8.8 thousand (the number has reduced by 3.8 thousand over the year and by 3.4 thousand over the quarter).
In Q1 2023 there were 17.1 thousand long-term unemployed persons – a drop of 1.7 thousand over the year and of 0.5 thousand over the quarter. The share of long-term unemployed in the total number of unemployed persons constituted 28.5 % (0.7 percentage points more than both year ago and in previous quarter).
Unemployed persons by duration of unemployment
(per cent)
| Q1 2021 | Q2 2021 | Q3 2021 | Q4 2021 | Q1 2022 | Q2 2022 | Q3 2022 | Q4 2022 | Q1 2023 |
Up to 5 months | 51.6 | 51.6 | 49.9 | 53.5 | 53.6 | 46.5 | 49.5 | 53.0 | 56.7 |
6–11 months | 19.2 | 21.6 | 16.7 | 14.2 | 18.6 | 21.1 | 22.1 | 19.2 | 14.7 |
12 months and more | 29.3 | 26.8 | 33.4 | 32.3 | 27.8 | 32.4 | 28.3 | 27.8 | 28.5 |
CSB estimate; the totals may not constitute 100 % as the numbers are calculated from unrounded figures.
Young people 14.4 % of the unemployed
In Q1 2023 young people (aged 15–24) constituted 14.4 % of all unemployed persons. The share has gone up by 4.2 percentage points over the year and down by 1.9 percentage points over the quarter.
Youth unemployment rate accounted for 13.4 %, thus being 1.4 percentage points higher than a year ago and 2.7 percentage points lower than in the previous quarter.
The total number of young unemployed persons increased by 1.7 thousand during the year and decreased by 1.7 thousand over the quarter.
Out of all young people, 35.6 % were economically active (i.e., employed or actively looking for a job (unemployed)), while 64.4 % were inactive (mostly still in education and not looking for job).
Increase in inactive population
In Q1 2023 almost a third (32.0 % or 441.5 thousand people) of the population aged 15–74 was inactive, i.e., was neither in employment, nor actively looking for a job. Compared to the previous quarter inactive population has grown by 3.3 thousand people or 0.8 % while compared to the previous year by 3.4 thousand people or 0.8 %.
Out of the whole inactive population, 3.0 thousand people or 0.7 % were discouraged from finding a job (1.2 % a year ago and 1.6 % in Q4 2022).
In Q1 2023 LFS covered 5.0 thousand households in which 8.6 thousand people aged 15–89 were interviewed, including 4.4 thousand households with 7.4 thousand people aged 15–74.
Media requests:
Communication Section
E-mail: media@csp.gov.lv
Phone: +371 27880666
More information on data:
Sandra Ceriņa
Social Statistics Data Compilation and Analysis Section
E-mail: Sandra.Cerina@csp.gov.lv
Phone: +371 67366653
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