The level of registered unemployment in the country continues to decline and reaches a record of 5.0% for July, according to data from the administrative statistics of the Employment Agency. Compared to the previous month, the decrease is 0.2%, whereas it points to 2.9 per cent on an annual basis - 7.9% in July 2020 to 5.0% in July 2021. Moreover, compared to July 2019 - a year of record growth in employment, the unemployment rate also falls by as much as 0.3 percentage points.
The registered unemployed during the month were 165,134, which is 5,582 less than in June and 93,419 or 36.1% less than a year earlier. In July, 20,451 newly unemployed people were registered at the labour offices, marking a decrease of 90 people compared to the previous month. Compared to July 2020, there is a decrease of 7,613. Another 662 job seekers, students and retirees also registered with the Employment Agency during the month.
In July, 17,856 unemployed started work. The data from the administrative statistics of the Employment Agency report a decrease in their number by 8,234 compared to June and a reduction of 9,567. Another 474 people among the pensioners, students and employees found new jobs through the employment offices.
75.2% of those who started working in July are employed in the real economy, most of them employed in the manufacturing sector - 22.5%, followed by trade with 14.8%, hotels and restaurants with 13.3%, public administration - 6.5%, construction - 5.7%, agriculture, forestry and fisheries - 4.6%, human health and social work activities by 3.8%, administrative and support service activities - by 3.7%, transport - by 2.9%.
4,423 unemployed among the risk groups were employed in subsidized jobs during the month - 530 under employment programs and measures and 3,893 - under the Operational Program "Human Resources Development" (OP HRD) schemes. The "Employment for You" scheme under the HRD OP, which started in July 2020 as an anti-crisis measure, has employed more than 32,000 people, and 1,864 have signed contracts in July alone.
The disbursement of funds under the anti-crisis measure for short-term employment support - the well-known 60/40 - continues. Thus, during the month, more than 79,000 employees received their financial compensation from the state. In addition, the "Keep Me" measure, funded by the HRD OP and the React-EU financial mechanism, supporting employees in forced unpaid leave imposed by the suspension of several economic activities to control the COVID-19 pandemic provided funds for nearly 58,000 employees.
In July, the requested jobs on the primary labour market were 15 700 or 3 928 (20.0%) less than the previous month and 649 (4.0%) less than the same month in 2020. The largest share of vacancies places in the real economy is in manufacturing (30.8%), followed by hotels and restaurants (12.1%), trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (10.9%), education (9.2%), administrative and support service activities (8.5%) and public administration (6.8%).
The most sought-after professions during the month: machine operators of stationary machines and equipment; personnel employed in the field of personal services; workers in the mining and processing industry, construction and transport; teachers; sellers; staff caring for people; skilled workers in the production of food, clothing, wood products and related; waste collection and associated workers; cleaners and helpers; drivers of motor vehicles and mobile equipment, etc.
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[1] The unemployment rate is defined as the registered unemployed in the economically active population aged 15-64, established in the 2011 Census.
