Latvian unemployment rises to 7% in January

  • 2018-02-12
  • LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA - In January 2018, Latvia’s registered unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points from December 2017 to 7 percent, according to information released by the State Employment Agency.

At the beginning of January 2018, there were 63,121 people registered with the government agency as unemployed. By the end of the month, their number had grown by 2,015 to 65,136 people.

The steepest increase in joblessness was recorded in Kurzeme, western Latvia, where unemployment rose 0.4 percent month-on-month to 8.1 percent. Joblessness grew just as quickly in the central Latvian province of Zemgale, hitting 6.9 percent at the end of January. In Vidzeme, northeastern Latvia, unemployment was up 0.3 percentage points to 7.8 percent.

The lowest registered unemployment rate, 4.4 percent, was recorded in Riga Region where unemployment edged up 0.1 percentage points from the end of December. The highest unemployment rate, 16 percent, was recorded in Latvia’s southeastern province of Latgale where joblessness rose 0.2 percent month-on-month.

In Riga, the unemployment rate was up 0.1 percentage points to 4.1 percent.

At the end of January 2017, Latvian unemployment stood at 8.5 percent.