RNBBA2413
Latvian unemployment rate fell to 6.9 % in Q2 2024
Results from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) conducted by the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) show that in Q2 2024 Latvia had an unemployment rate of 6.9 % (7.2 % in Q1 2024). The rate has gone down by 0.3 percentage points over the quarter and up by 0.5 percentage points over the year.
In Q2 2024 there were 65.8 thousand unemployed persons aged 15–74 (incl.), which is 5.2 thousand more than a year ago and 2.9 thousand fewer than in the previous quarter.
Number of unemployed persons
(thousand)
| Q2 2023 | 2024 | Change in Q2 2024, compared to | ||||
Q1 | Q2 | Q2 2023 | Q1 2024 | ||||
thousand | % | thousand | % | ||||
Total (aged 15–74) | 60.6 | 68.7 | 65.8 | 5.2 | 8.6 | -2.9 | -4.2 |
males | 38.5 | 37.1 | 39.2 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 5.7 |
females | 22.1 | 31.6 | 26.5 | 4.4 | 19.9 | -5.1 | -16.1 |
Young people (aged 15–24) | 5.8 | 7.8 | 11.1 | 5.3 | 91.4 | 3.3 | 42.3 |
Refer to the OSP database: NBB160c
In Q1 2024 Latvian unemployment rate (7.2 %) was 0.9 percentage points above the EU average (6.3 %). In Q2 2024 it was lower than in Estonia (7.6 %) and Lithuania (7.0 %).
Refer to the Eurostat database: LFSQ_URGAED; Q2 2024 data – OSP database table NBB160c, results from the LFS conducted in Lithuania and Estonia.
Greater proportion of long-term unemployed
In Q2 2024 there were 21.4 thousand long-term unemployed persons (unemployed for 12 months or more), which is a rise of 3.5 thousand over the year and of 0.9 thousand over the quarter. The share of long-term unemployed in the total number of unemployed persons made up 33.1 % (up by 3.4 percentage points over the year and by 3.1 percentage points over the quarter).
Almost a half of unemployed persons (31.6 thousand) did not have a job for up to five months (down by 0.3 thousand over the year and by 5.1 thousand over the quarter). The number of persons unemployed for 6–11 months totalled 11.7 thousand (up by 1.1 thousand over the year and by 0.5 thousand over the quarter).
Unemployed persons by duration of unemployment
(per cent)
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 |
Up to 5 months | 53.6 | 46.5 | 49.5 | 53.0 | 56.7 | 52.7 | 56.9 | 53.8 | 53.7 | 48.8 |
6–11 months | 18.6 | 21.1 | 22.1 | 19.2 | 14.7 | 17.6 | 17.5 | 19.4 | 16.3 | 18.1 |
12 months and more | 27.8 | 32.4 | 28.3 | 27.8 | 28.5 | 29.7 | 25.6 | 26.8 | 30.0 | 33.1 |
CSB estimate; the totals may not constitute 100 % as the numbers are calculated from unrounded figures.
Share of unemployed youths gone up
In Q2 2024 young people (aged 15–24) made up 11.1 thousand or 16.8 % of all unemployed persons. The share has gone up by 7.2 percentage points over the year and by 5.4 percentage points over the quarter.
Youth unemployment rate was 16.9 %, which is 7.3 percentage points higher than a year ago and 5.0 percentage points higher than in the previous quarter. The total number of unemployed youths grew by 5.3 thousand over the year and by 3.3 thousand over the quarter.
Out of all young people, 34.9 % were economically active (i.e., employed or actively looking for a job (unemployed)) while 65.1 % inactive (mostly still in education and not looking for a job).
Decline in inactive population
In Q2 2024 almost a third of the population aged 15–74 (30.9 % or 424.6 thousand people) was inactive, i.e., was neither in employment, nor actively looking for a job. Over the quarter inactive population reduced by 2.7 thousand people or 0.6 % while over the year by 6.3 thousand people or 1.5 %.
In Q2 2024 LFS covered 5.1 thousand households in which 8.4 thousand people aged 15–89 were interviewed, including 4.4 thousand households with 7.3 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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