Montenegrin unemployment rate is 12.17 percent

According to the latest data of the Montenegrin Employment Office, 32,128 persons are unemployed in Montenegro, while the unemployment rate amounts to 12.17 percent. From the beginning of 2010 to today, 17,715 persons have been employed, as well as 1,355 apprentices.

In the same period, 6,517 persons were hired for seasonal jobs. The Employment Office states that 13,872 work permits have been issued since the beginning of the year. The number of tenders for vacancies in 2010 is lower than in the same period last year by 19.5 percent.

News source: Limun.hr link: article

Parliament approves aid to unemployed in Slovenia, Germany, Spain and Poland

The European Parliament approved on Tuesday eight applications for support from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund. The funding is for 2,554 redundant workers in Slovenia, 1,181 in Germany, 2312 in Spain and 779 from Poland.

Slovenia applied for €2,247,940 in EU Globalisation Adjustment Fund Aid to help 2,554 former workers at the Mura European Fashion Design (clothing) company to find new jobs.

Germany applied for €8,308,555 in EU Globalisation Adjustment Fund Aid to help 1,181 former workers at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG's printing machinery plants in Baden-Württemberg to find new jobs.

The Spanish authorities applied for €8,728,978 in European Globalisation Fund Aid for 2312 workers in three regions: Valencia (several firms in the construction and textile sector), Catalonia (the Lear company, producing electrical equipment for cars) and Aragón (several firms in the retail trade sector).

The two Polish applications amount to €747,327 for 779 ex-workers from the Wielkopolskie province (two firms in the car industry) and the H. Cegielski-Poznań company, the only Polish manufacturer of marine engines, plus its suppliers.

The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund was established to provide additional support for workers made redundant as a result of major structural changes in world trade patterns due to globalisation or the financial crisis and to assist them with their reintegration into the labour market. The fund's annual ceiling is €500 million.

News source: EU Press Room link: article

Euro area unemployment rate at 10.1% EU27 at 9.6%

The euro area(EA16) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 10.1% in October 2010, compared with 10.0% in September. It was 9.9% in October 2009. The EU271 unemployment rate was 9.6% in October 2010, unchanged compared with September. It was 9.4% in October 2009.Eurostat estimates that 23.151 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 15.947 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in October 2010. Compared with September, the number of persons unemployed increased by 84 000 in the EU27 and by 80 000 in the euro area. Compared with October 2009, unemployment rose by 0.590 million in the EU27 and by 0.402 million in the euro area.

These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Netherlands (4.4%), Austria (4.8%) and Luxembourg (5.0%), and the highest in Spain (20.7%), Latvia (19.4% in the second quarter of 2010) and Lithuania (18.4% in the third quarter of 2010).Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in eight Member States and increased in nineteen. The largest falls were observed in Germany (7.5% to 6.7%), Malta (6.9% to 6.2%), Sweden (8.8% to 8.1%) and Finland (8.7% to 8.0%). The highest increases were registered in Lithuania (14.4% to 18.4% between the third quarters of 2009 and 2010), Greece (9.2% to 12.2% between the second quarters of 2009 and 2010) and Latvia (16.5% to 19.4% between the second quarters of 2009 and 2010).

Between October 2009 and October 2010, the unemployment rate for males rose from 9.8% to 9.9% in the euro area and from 9.5% to 9.6% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate increased from 9.9% to 10.3% in the euro area and from 9.2% to 9.6% in the EU27. In October 2010, the youth unemployment rate (under-25s) was 20.1% in the euro area and 20.4% in the EU27. In October 2009 it was 20.2% and 20.6% respectively. The lowest rates were observed in Germany and the Netherlands (both 8.5%) and Austria (9.8%), and the highest rates in Spain (43.2%), Lithuania (35.3% in the third quarter of 2010) and Latvia (34.0% in the second quarter of 2010). In the USA, the unemployment rate was 9.6% in October 2010. In Japan it was 5.0% in September 2010. 

News source: Eurostat link: article

Budgets Committee backs globalisation adjustment aid to workers in Slovenia and Germany

EU Globalisation Adjustment Fund aid for 2,554 redundant workers in Slovenia and 1,181 in Germany was approved by Parliament's Budgets Committee on Thursday. Slovenia applied for €2,247,940 in EU Globalisation Adjustment Fund Aid to help 2,554 former workers at the Mura European Fashion Design (clothing) company to find new jobs.

Germany applied for €8,308,555 in EU Globalisation Adjustment Fund Aid to help 1,181 former workers at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG's printing machinery plants in Baden-Württemberg to find new jobs.

This aid still needs to be approved by Parliament as a whole in a plenary vote, probably in December. The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund was established to provide additional support for workers made redundant as a result of major structural changes in world trade patterns due to globalisation or the financial crisis and to assist them with their reintegration into the labour market. The fund's annual ceiling is €500 million.

News source: EP Press Room link: article

Greece: Unemployment climbs to record 12.2 pct- Jobless number rises to record 613,108, up 35 pct y/y

Greece's unemployment rate rose to a record level in August as austerity policies aimed at slashing the budget deficit led to job cuts, figures from statistics service ELSTAT showed on Thursday. The unemployment rate jumped to 12.2 percent from 12 percent in July and 9 percent in August 2009. It is the highest reading since Greece started compiling monthly jobless data in 2004. A record 613,108 people were without work, 35 percent more than in August 2009.

Employment is expected to suffer as the Greek economy goes through its deepest recession in almost 40 years, partly due to austerity policies to shore up the country's finances and avoid a debt default in exchange for a 110 billion euro EU/IMF bailout. Greece's jobless rate was the fourth-highest in the 16-member euro zone after Spain, Slovakia and Ireland and 2.2 percentage points above the bloc's average.

The EU and the IMF expect Greek unemployment to hit 14.5 percent next year, with the economy suffering its third consecutive year of contraction. Unemployment hit young people hardest, with the jobless rate reaching 30.8 percent in the 15-24 age group and 16.4 percent for those aged 25 to 34. Workers in construction, tourism and retail businesses are particularly affected.

News source: Balkans.com link: article

Croatia's economy still in recession-EIZ

The Zagreb Institute of Economics (EIZ) has announced that Croatia's economy is still in a recession, according to HINA. GDP is expected to decline 1.7% this year. An economic upturn, of 1.7%, is expected only in 2011.

The EIZ forecasts a continuation of negative trends on the labour market, with the worst expected next February and March, when the number of the jobless could exceed 330,000 and the registered unemployment rate reach 19%. Lack of readiness of those in charge of the economic policy to launch more comprehensive reforms could lead to a slow and weak economic recovery in coming years, according to the EIZ. This year's second quarter saw the ninth consecutive quarterly decline of GDP, of 2.5%.

Despite other negative indicators such as steep declines in construction and investments as well as a reduction in personal and government spending, there are encouraging signals, such as growing exports and a mild increase in retail. Inflation is expected to remain low and the balance of payments deficit to decline, while the fiscal deficit and the public debt are expected to grow markedly. Next year is expected to bring a mild economic upturn due to stronger exports, a recovery of personal spending and more favourable overall trends, in part due to the global economic upturn. On the other hand, 2011 is not expected to see an increase in employment.

Growing exports and declining imports will reduce this year's balance of payments deficit to about 3% of GDP, which should markedly slow down external debt growth. Next year, import growth will raise the balance of payments deficit to 3.8%. The EIZ expects monetary support for economic growth to continue, with a significant growth of liquid funds and the credit volume in 2011. The EIZ points to extremely poor investments, a relatively low export growth, which points to problems in competitiveness, and lack of measures to encourage competitiveness. The EIZ also notes the government's unwillingness to launch unpopular reforms, saying this is linked to parliamentary elections, although they are scheduled for the end of 2011

News source: Balkans.com link: article

Euro area unemployment rate at 10.1% EU27 at 9.6%

The euro area (EA16) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 10.1% in September 2010, compared with 10.0% in August. It was 9.8% in September 2009. The EU271 unemployment rate was 9.6% in September 2010, unchanged compared with August. It was 9.3% in September 2009. Eurostat estimates that 23.109 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 15.917 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in September 2010. Compared with August, the number of persons unemployed increased by 71 000 in the EU27 and by 67 000 in the euro area. Compared with September 2009, unemployment rose by 0.656 million in the EU27 and by 0.424 million in the euro area.

These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Netherlands (4.4%) and Austria (4.5%) and the highest in Spain (20.8%), Latvia (19.4% in the second quarter of 2010), Estonia (18.6% in the second quarter of 2010) and Lithuania (18.2% in the second quarter of 2010). Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in seven Member States, remained stable in one and increased in nineteen. The largest falls were observed in Malta (7.2% to 6.2%), Germany (7.6% to 6.7%) and Austria (5.1% to 4.5%). The highest increases were registered in Estonia (13.4% to 18.6% between the second quarters of 2009 and 2010), Lithuania (13.5% to 18.2% between the second quarters of 2009 and 2010) and Greece (9.2% to 12.2% between the second quarters of 2009 and 2010).

Between September 2009 and September 2010, the unemployment rate for males rose from 9.8% to 9.9% in the euro area and remained stable at 9.5% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate increased from 9.9% to 10.3% in the euro area and from 9.1% to 9.6% in the EU27. In September 2010, the youth unemployment rate (under-25s) was 20.0% in the euro area and 20.3% in the EU27. In September 2009 it was 20.2% and 20.6% respectively. The lowest rates were observed in Germany (8.5%), the Netherlands (8.6%) and Austria (8.9%), and the highest rates in Spain (42.5%), Lithuania (37.6% in the second quarter of 2010) and Estonia (37.2% in the second quarter of 2010).

In the USA, the unemployment rate was 9.6% in September 2010. In Japan it was 5.1% in August 2010.

News source: Eurostat link: article

Regional unemployment rates ranged from 2.1% in Zeeland to 27.1% in Réunion

Regional unemployment rates varied widely across the EU27 in 2009, from 2.1% in the region of Zeeland in the Netherlands, to 27.1% in Réunion, a French Overseas Department. Between 2008 and 2009 unemployment rose in 90% of the 271 NUTS 22 regions of the EU27. Of these 271 regions, 28 had an unemployment rate of 4.4% or less in 2009, half the average for the EU27.

They included eleven out of twelve regions in the Netherlands, five regions in Austria, three in Italy, two each in Belgium, the Czech Republic and Germany, and one each in Bulgaria, Romania and the United Kingdom. At the other extreme, thirteen regions had a rate of 17.8% or higher, double that of the EU27: nine regions in Spain and the four French Overseas Departments. These data on regional unemployment, compiled on the basis of the EU Labour Force Survey, are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

News source: Eurostat link: publication

Labour force, Slovenia, August 2010

In August 2010 the registered unemployment rate increased by 0.1 of a percentage point, reaching 10.6%. The number of persons in employment decreased by around 1,900. After three-month stagnation, in August 2010 the registered unemployment rate increased again by 0.1 of a percentage point, reaching 10.6%. This is the result of the increase in the number of registered unemployed persons by more than 600 and at the same time of the decrease in the number of persons in paid employment by almost 2,400. However, the number of self-employed persons increased, mainly the number of individual private entrepreneurs (by more than 500).

The largest decrease in the number of persons in employment in Koroška.  In August 2010 the number of persons in employment decreased by around 1,900. The decrease was the largest (by more than 700) in the Koroška statistical region, and by more than 350 in both Jugovzhodna Slovenija and the Osrednjeslovenska statistical region. The only statistical region in which the number of persons in employment increased was the Pomurska region (by almost 200).

News source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia link: publication

Macedonia's Q2 Jobless Rate Rises to 32.1%

According to the data of the State Statistical Office, in the II quarter of 2010, the labour force in the Republic of Macedonia numbered 923323 persons, of which 627129 or 67.9% were employed and 296194 or 32.1% were unemployed persons.

The activity rate in this period was 56.0, the employment rate was 38.1, whereas the unemployment rate was 32.1.

News source: State Statistical Office link: publication

Euro area unemployment rate stable at 10.1%, EU27 stable at 9.6%

The euro area1 (EA16) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 10.1% in August 2010, unchanged compared with July. It was 9.7% in August 2009. The EU27 unemployment rate was 9.6% in August 2010, also unchanged compared with July. It was 9.2% in August 2009.

Eurostat estimates that 23.066 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 15.869 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in August 2010. Compared with July, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 68 000 in the EU27 and by 20 000 in the euro area. Compared with August 2009, unemployment rose by 0.894 million in the EU27 and by 0.569 million in the euro area.

These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.3%) and the Netherlands (4.5%), and the highest in Spain (20.5%), Latvia (19.5% in the second quarter of 2010), Estonia (18.6% in the second quarter of 2010) and Lithuania (18.2% in the second quarter of 2010).

news source: Eurostat link: publication

Albanian labor force second quarter 2010

Labor force during the second quarter 2010 is 1,049,491 persons and the registered unemployment rate is 13.78%. The average number of employed in the private agricultural sector from second quarter 2008 till third quarter 2009 is estimated by Albanian Labor Force Survey 2007, and from the fourth quarter 2009 is estimated by Albanian Labor Force Survey 2008. The average number of employed in private agricultural sector for the second quarter 2010 is  496,190 persons.

In the private non-agricultural sector over the second quarter 2010, the average number of employed has increased by 0.2% compared to the second quarter of the previous year. The average number of registered unemployed over the second quarter is 144,641 persons. The average number of unemployed who receive unemployment benefit is 10,775 The average amount of partial social assistance per family is 3,169 Albanian LEK whereas the average amount of full social assistance is 3,940 LEK.

The minimum wage level according to the Council of Ministers Decision, No 522 of date 13/05/2009 “For the determination of minimum wage at national level” is 18,000 LEK.The base level of unemployment benefit according to the Council of Ministers Decision No 631 of date 11/06/2009 is 6,340 LEK. 

News source: Instituti i Statistikës link: publication

Greece jobless rate jumps to 10-yr high

Unemployment in Greece hit a 10-year high in the second quarter, according to data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) yesterday that noted an increase to 11.8 percent compared to 8.9 percent a year earlier. That’s the highest rate since 2000, when unemployment was 12.3 percent. In the first quarter of this year, Greece’s jobless rate stood at 11.7 percent.
Greece is mired in a growing recession and rising borrowing costs as the government labors to slash a deficit over four times the allowed EU level and reduce a debt of nearly 300 billion euros. The economy is expected to contract by 4 percent of output this year.
The country’s 15-29 age bracket remains the worst affected, with 22.8 percent in that group out of work, compared to 17.7 percent last year. There were 594,032 people looking for employment in the second quarter.
Unemployment among women rose from 12.5 percent last year to 15.3 percent, compared to 6.3 and 9.4 percent among men.
Analysts said they see the jobless rate continuing to rise in the coming quarters due to plunging demand levels and concerns about future economic performance weighing on company hiring decisions.



News source: Kathimerini link: article

Most abrupt increase in unemployment since 1992

The last two years have been the harshest on the labour market since 1990, reveals a survey by Friedrich Ebert Romania Foundation. Unemployment rose from 3.7% in the summer of 2008 to 7.4% in July 2010.

Month by month 20,000 or 30,000 people would be made redundant and register with employment agencies to collect unemployment benefits.

"The annual rate of increase in the number of people laid off in the economy is the most abrupt since 1992. In only 18 months since mid 2008, their number has gone up by more than 100% reaching 741,000 people. 

News source: ZF link: article

Unemployment in Bulgaria Up 4% Q2 2010 Y/Y

The number of unemployed in Bulgaria, who are over the age of 15, during the second quarter of 2010 is 342 200 people with the unemployment rate reaching 10%.

The data was published Monday by the National Statistics Institute (NSI).

Compared with the second quarter of 2009, unemployment is up nearly 4% or by nearly 120 000 people.



News feed: Novinite.com link: article

Labour force, Slovenia, June 2010

In June 2010 the registered unemployment rate did not change; it stood at 10.5%. The number of persons in employment increased by around 460.

 News feed: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia Article: link