THE UNEMPLOYMENT in Slovakia fell by 8.2 percent year-on-year to 350,600 in the third quarter of the year. The jobless rate dropped by 1.2 percentage points y/y to 12.9 percent. The unemployment rate for men went down by 1.4 percentage points y/y to 12.3 percent, while the unemployment rate of women dropped by 0.9 percentage points y/y to 13.6 percent.
Compared to the previous quarter, the seasonally adjusted joblessness fell by 1.9 percent (or 6,900 people) to 357,400 people, the data published by the Statistics Office (ŠÚ) on December 3 showed.
The drop in unemployment was affected mostly by the long-term joblessness, especially the decrease in the group of people who are without job for more than two years. The number of such people shrank by 20,100 to 166,600 in 3Q. The share of this category on the total unemployment stood at 47.5 percent, which is by 1.4 percentage points less than in 3Q 2013. Together with people who are without job for one to two years, the final long-term unemployment comprised 65.7 percent, which means that up to two thirds of all jobless in Slovakia are long-term jobless, the ŠÚ data suggest.
The number of jobless in other categories divided based on length of unemployment also dropped, except for those without job for less than one month. The number of these people rose by 7.7 percent y/y. Altogether, the short-term joblessness (i.e. less than one year) decreased by 8,400 people to 120,200.
The highest number of the unemployed was in Prešov (69,600) and Košice (58,000) Regions. The joblessness dropped in most regions, with the highest decrease in Košice Region: by 19.6 percent. It increased only in Trnava Region, by 1.2 percent. The highest regional unemployment rate was in Prešov Region (17.5 percent). It dropped in nearly all regions, with Košice Region the most (by 3.5 percentage points). The jobless rate did not change in Trnava Region, ŠÚ data suggest.
During the first three quarters of 2014 the unemployment dropped by 5.8 percent y/y to 363,300 people. The jobless rate dropped by 0.8 percentage points y/y to 13.4 percent.
Source: Statistics Office website
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
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