Slovakia's unemployment rate in January reached record-high figures for the post-crisis period at 12.98 percent, an annual increase of 0.52 percentage points, the Labour, Social Affairs and Family Office (ÚPSVaR) stated on February 21 as reported by the TASR newswire.
A total of 391,637 jobseekers were registered at Slovakia’s job centres in January, with 349,196 of them immediately available to begin work. The number grew by 11,293 compared to December 2010 but was down by 183 year-on-year.
UniCredit Bank analyst Dávid Dereník said these could be misleading jobless figures, stating that "unemployment statistics tend to be distorted in January, owing to changes in the number of people used to calculate the rate and a regular drop in the seasonal employment rate in the construction and agriculture sectors," as quoted by TASR. When seasonal influences and changes in the number of economically active people are taken into account, the unemployment rate actually stayed more or less the same, according to Dereník.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
