TALLINN - Statistical Office data published last month highlighted a remarkable macroeconomic trend: it has become considerably easier to find a job in Estonia.
After a brief period of stagnation last year, employment numbers began to grow in the beginning of 2005. The total number of people with jobs increased by 5,000 compared with the same time in 2004.
A recent labor survey found that out of the working-age population aged 15 's 74, 595,000 were employed, while there were 391,000 economically inactive, including students and retired persons, in the country. In all, 62,000 were officially unemployed.
Kai Kotka, director of the Tallinn Employment Service, said that the number of unemployed registered in the service's database decreased 37 percent in comparison with 2004. "The average number of jobless persons is 7,200 per month," she said, "while new vacancies appear in abundance."
The number of jobs has grown the most in the service sector 's hotels and restaurants, real estate, renting and business and transport.
In Kotka's opinion, employers are first and foremost interested in skilled workers, while experience often takes second place. For inexperienced students, this is a challenge.
Kotka said the situation could undergo further improvement if Parliament passes a new employment law. In accordance with the bill, employment offices will be charged with providing practical work for unemployed people, thereby boosting their skills and experience. The law will also enable more efficient work with clients and draw up individual programs.
Statistics show that unemployment (18.9 percent) was the highest in northeastern Estonia, more than two times higher than in other regions. The average unemployed person is a Russian-speaking woman aged 25 's 49, who has a secondary education and has not worked for 6 months.
Recent Eurostat research shows that the number of employed women having children under 12 in Estonia (83.8 percent) exceeds the equivalent number in other EU countries (75.1 percent).
In Estonia, women having three or more kids have more problems with finding a job; only 39 percent of them are employed. Most of them are simply unable to afford day-care centers or nursery schools.
Still, overall unemployment numbers have decreased due to more jobs for young people. In 2004, the rate of jobless youngsters rose to a record 27.2 percent, while in the first quarter of this year the same number fell to 15.1 percent.
The average monthly gross salary was 7,427 kroons (476 euros), and the average hourly wage was 45.37 kroons, according to Statistics Office data.
