Unemployment hits a peak

Unemployment hit a 16-year peak in December 2009-February 2010: KSH measured the unemployment rate to be 11.4 percent, with 3,726,000 people being employed and 479,000 unemployed in the 15-74 age group. In the examined period, 61.7 percent of the 15-64 age group was present on the labour market, 67,000 people less than a year before.

The unemployment rate of the 25-54 age group was 10.7 percent, up 2.5 percent from the same period a year earlier. Unemployment rate among men was up 2.6 percentage points, while among women it grew by 2 percentage points. The average length of unemployment was 16.3 months, 1.1 months shorter than in the previous period. 44.9 percent of the unemployed have been looking for work at least for a year.