THE REGISTERED unemployment rate in Slovakia swelled by 0.07 percentage points to 8.06 percent in January month-on-month. Unemployment increased for the second consecutive month, the National Labour, Social Affairs and Family Office announced on February 18, the ČTK newswire reported.
Compared withJanuary 2007, the unemployment rate decreased by 1.39 points .
Three districts of central Slovakia - Rimavská Sobota, Revúca and Rožňava - reported the highest unemployment rates, exceeding 20 percent. The Bratislava Region traditionally reported the lowest unemployment rate of 2.05 percent.
The number of job seekers able to take up jobs immediately was 210,301 at the end of January.
Slovakia holds the highest unemployment rate among EU countries. According to results of a survey for December, which the European Union's Statistical Office Eurostat released on February 18, the December unemployment rate in Slovakia was 10.8 percent. Spain followed with 8.6 percent.
