The number of employed increased from month to month during the first half of the year compared to last year. Increased employment was typical in the private sector, while employment in government and administration although showed some fluctuations, overall decreased. The number of full time employees increased, partly because more and more people were forced to become entrepreneurs in order to let their actual employers avoid having to pay social security contribution.
The number of unemployed decreased: based on the labor market review of the Central Statistical Office there were 322.8 thousand unemployed in January and only 256.5 thousand in June. The rate of unemployment in the second quarter was 6.9 percent. The number of jobless persons registered at manpower centers decreased from 434.7 to 394.4 over the same period, while the rate calculated on the basis of these figures fell from 10.3 percent to 9.4 percent. 49 percent of the unemployed has been looking for a job for over a year. The same ratio is rather high among the 24 years old: it is 34 percent.
Net wages increased by 12.9 percent during the first quarter and by 12.5 percent during the second. Wages increased faster in the public than in the private sector, primarily because the government paid up several earlier debts demanded by the employees.
The economic activity which had been poor for a long time started to increase, although the 59.5 percent level is still below the 67.9 percent last year average of the European Union.
Demand for the simplest blue collar jobs remains high. A new development is that although unskilled laborers as frequently fired, because of the high demand they can soon find another job. With respect to white collar occupations demand is on the rise in the area of services, for sales agents, nurses or even high school teachers. –
