Term-term unemployed numbers drop to 2008 levels
The number of people without a job for at least 12 months fell below the 20,000-mark for the first time since the economic downturn in 2008.
The number of long-term unemployed peaked at slightly below 60,000 in 2010 and has gradually decreased since. The figure was only around 10,000 in 2008, Statistics Estonia reported.
The total number of people out of a job right now is 44,000. That figure has mimicked the trend of the long-term unemployed, peaking at over 120,000 in 2010, from a low of around 25,000 in 2008.
The employment rate increased slightly in the second quarter of 2015, compared to both the previous quarter and Q2 in 2014. The rate is 65.1 percent or 640,000 people. This was driven by more young people successfully entering the job market as the employment rate of 15-24-year-olds increased by 5 percent since the same time a year ago and is currently at 44 percent.
Editor: J.M. Laats