In May actual unemployment rate constituted 7.9 % and registered – 7.6 %

Data of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) conducted by the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) show that in May 2021 actual unemployment rate comprised 7.9 %, which is 0.1 percentage point less than in April. The unemployment rate for both females and males decreased by 0.2 percentage points in May, to 7.3 % and 8.3 %, respectively. Unemployment rate registered by the State Employment Agency (SEA) accounted for 7.6 % which is 0.3 percentage points less than in April. Unemployment rate decrease may be observed when comparing the data to the May of the previous year – of 0.7 percentage points in actual unemployment rate and 0.8 percentage points in registered unemployment rate.

In May 2021 there were 72.6 thousand unemployed persons in Latvia, which is 1.0 thousand less than in April and 11.0 thousand less than in the respective period of the previous year when the first emergency situation in the country had been declared for two months. The number of unemployed persons as low as in May of this year has not been in Latvia since January 2020, when there were 72.3 thousand unemployed persons in the country. Since the second declaration of the emergency situation in November 2020 when a number of on-site services were restricted, the number of unemployed persons has decreased by 3.0 thousand.

Registered unemployment rate is calculated based on the SEA data and results of LFS conducted by the CSB. Unadjusted monthly estimates of the survey are used for calculations of the actual unemployment rate. SEA data are only on population of working age.

CSB reminds that during the time of change it is important to obtain the information on population employment in order to assess impact of the current situation on the national economic and social processes and therefore is asking population to be active and participate in surveys. CSB would like to thank everyone who took part in surveys and helped to assess the effect of the current situation on national processes. 

Registered unemployment rate by month is available on the – SEA website
Methodology used for the CSB monthly estimates is published on the Official Statistics Portal reference metadata section Employment and unemployment
Seasonal Adjustment of Time Series During COVID-19 Crisis
Socio-economic indicators of the emergency situation are available on the Official Statistics Portal Covid-19 thematic section

Media requests:
Communication Section
E-mail: media@csp.gov.lv
Phone: +371 67366989, +371 27880666

More information on data:
Zaiga Priede
Social Statistics Methodology Section
E-mail: Zaiga.Priede@csp.gov.lv
Phone: +371 67366886