In the second quarter, 4.9 percent more people were employed than during the same period last year. Data from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board's (MTA) remuneration statements indicated that the number of people receiving declared waged had increased approximately 4 percent on year as well, Bank of Estonia economist Orsolya Soosaar said in a press release.

The number of permanent residents active on Estonia's labor market has increased significantly this year, owing to young and retirement-age people in particular.

While not yet covered in this year's labor market survey data, war refugees from Ukraine increased the country's labor supply as well. According to registry data, an average of 3,300 war refugees from Ukraine were employed by Estonian companies in the second quarter this year, and nearly 4,000 were looking for a job through the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund (EUIF).

Employment was most often found in the manufacturing industry, the administrative and support services field, trade as well as accommodation and food services.

Although the cooling of the economy has not had a strong impact on employment thus far, a survey by the Estonian Institute of Economic Research indicates that employers in the industrial and commercial sectors have become more pessimistic about employment growth in recent months.

Nevertheless, the fact that labor productivity increased much faster than labor costs during the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis has helped soften setbacks in the field of employment, Soosaar said.

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