Unemployment Rate at 7.09 percent in September, Lowest Figure Since May 2020
Bratislava, October 20 (TASR) – The unemployment rate in Slovakia fell to 7.09 percent in September, a low since May 2020, when it stood at 7.2 percent, said Labour Minister Milan Krajniak (We Are Family) during the Government session on Wednesday.
“The unemployment rate is shadowing developments in the pandemic to a certain level, but it’s important that the level to which unemployment fell in September 2021 is lower than a year ago,” stated the minister.
Another piece of good news is that the number of job vacancies is growing as well, said Krajniak. There were more than 76,000 jobs available in Slovakia in September. “The labour market is alive, working, and so those who might potentially lose their jobs will have the opportunity to find a new job if they want to work,” said Krajniak.
A total of 17,437 people managed to find a job in September, which was almost 5,000 more than in August. The minister views this as proof of the claim that the labour market is functioning and that people who want to work can find a job.
The Labour Ministry also made a year-on-year (y-o-y) comparison of how many secondary school-leavers entered the labour market in September. “Compared to last September, 824 fewer secondary-school leavers joined labour office registers. This means that new school-leavers are also able to find a job more easily than a year ago,” stated the minister.
This year is also better than last in terms of mass lay-offs. “While 8,321 people were threatened by mass lay-offs between January-September 2020, the figure is only 6,193 so far this year,” said Krajniak, stressing that the threat of a lay-off doesn’t necessarily mean it will actually happen. The state usually manages to avert mass lay-offs, he added.
According to Krajniak, the southeast of Slovakia is the worst off, but this has been known for a long time, and the state has been trying to improve the situation through investments and support schemes.
The minister pointed to the need to count on the possibility that a stronger wave of the pandemic might come and halt the fall in unemployment. He hopes the unemployment will continue to decrease, however.
