Layoffs the leading cause for job loss in 2020
Registered unemployment in Estonia raised to 8.3 percent in December with the largest rate of unemployment present in Ida-Viru County. The most common for unemployed persons registering with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (Töötukassa) last year was layoffs.
In 2020, the fund registered a total of 110,942 unemployed people, 30.6 percent up from 2019.
There were 87,877 first-time registered unemployed people with 21,348 of them losing their previous job as a result of redundancies. Of the people laid off, 11,900 were in Tallinn and Harju County, 2,600 were laid off in Ida-Viru County, 1,800 lost their job in Tartu County and 1,400 people were maid redundant during the coronavirus pandemic in Pärnu County.
Employment contracts were terminated in 12,200 cases where the parties involved reached an agreement, 12,400 fixed-term contracts were terminated last year and another 14,200 people registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund after leaving their job at their own initative.
Young people made up 15.5 percent of unemployed persons last year, those aged 55 and up made up 19.5 percent. Long-term unemployed people made up 32.1 percent of all registered unemployed in 2020.
There were 53,874 people registered at the end of last year, 21.9 percent of those were people with reduced working capacity. A third of unemployed people were registered for less than three months, 23 percent were registered for 3-5 months and 16 percent were in the registry for 6-8 months.
In December, the share of unemployment was greatest in Ida-Viru County (13.2 percent), followed by Valga County (10.1 percent), Pärnu County (9.9 percent) and Põlva County (9 percent).
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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste
