Statistics: Unemployment rate up to 7.8 percent in first quarter of 2024

According to data provided by Statistics Estonia, in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, the unemployment rate in Estonia was 7.8 percent, the employment rate was 68.4 percent, and the labor force participation rate was 74.2 percent.
According to Tea Vassiljeva, an analyst at Statistics Estonia, unemployment indicators trended noticeably upward after the fluctuations seen last year.
"In the first quarter of this year, there were 58,900 unemployed people. This is 19,800 people more than in the first quarter of 2023 and 4,100 more than in the third quarter of 2023, which was the period with the highest unemployment last year," said Vassiljeva.
She added that the unemployment rate – i.e. the proportion of unemployed people among the labor force – was 7.8 percent in Q1 2024. This was 2.5 percentage points higher than during the same period a year before and also higher than the peak levels during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Statistics Estonia, the number of unemployed people decreased in Q1 due both to decreased employment levels, and increased participation in the labor market by people who were previously inactive (this includes retired people, students, homemakers, and others who do not work nor are actively looking for work).
Biggest decline occurred in industry and construction
Vassiljeva explained that the number of employed persons (693,300) was down by 3,300 compared with the first quarter of last year.
"The employment rate, which is the proportion of people in the population aged 15–74 who are employed, was 68.4 percent, down one percentage point on year," Vassiljeva said. The number of people employed by different companies decreased the most, while the number of people who are self-employed rose.
Looking at the data according to different sectors, the biggest falls in employment were in industry and construction, both in terms of the number of employees and the number of people employed overall.
In services, the number of employees decreased on year, though there was a slight rise in overall employment. In agriculture, forestry and fishing, there was an increase in overall employment levels as well as in the number of employees.

Working-age population increased
In Q1 2024, the number of economically inactive persons was down by 6,900 compared to the same period last year. Among those aged 15-24, there were slightly more inactive persons, while in the 25–64-years age group. (i.e. those in the most active working age), the number of inactive persons fell significantly. In Q1, the number of inactive persons in this age group decreased by 10,400 (7,000 men and 3,400 women) on year.
The labor force participation rate (the share of the labor force in the population aged 15–74) was 74.2 percent, which is 0.9 percentage points higher than in the first quarter of 2023.

"As of January 1, 2024, the working-age population of Estonia has grown by 9,600. The growth is not as big as the year before when the working-age population grew by 25,600, but the war in Ukraine still influences our labor market," said Vassiljeva.
More information is available here, here, here and here.
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Editor: Michael Cole