Unemployment rate registered by the State Employment Agency (SEA) accounted for 8.4 % – an increase of 0.4 percentage points, compared to April. Unemployment rate has also increased when compared to the May of the previous year – actual unemployment rate by 3.3 percentage points and registered by 2.3 percentage points.
In May 2020, in Latvia there were 93.5 thousand unemployed persons, which is 4 thousand more than in April and 32.6 thousand more than a year ago. Over the past three months (since the emergency situation was announced), number of unemployed persons has risen by 22.5 thousand, compared to actual monthly unemployment in February 2020.
Registered and actual unemployment rate is calculated based on the SEA data and results of the Labour Force Survey conducted by the CSB. SEA data cover only population of working age.
Aiming to limit the spread of COVID-19, as of March 13 CSB is not conducting face-to-face interviews at respondent residences. All interviews are taken online or by phone.
CSB reminds that during the time of change information on population employment is important to assess impact of the current situation on the national economic and social processes and therefore is asking population to be active and participate in surveys by phone or online. CSB would like to say thank you to everyone who took part in surveys and helped to assess the effect of the current situation on national processes.
