Estonia Unemployment Q2 2007

From Bloomberg today:


Estonia's Unemployment Fell to 15-Year Low in Second Quarter

Estonia's unemployment rate fell to a 15-year low in the second quarter as retailers and construction companies increased hiring.

Unemployment declined to 5 percent from 5.3 percent in the first quarter and from 6.2 percent a year earlier, the Tallinn- based statistics office said on its Web site today. The number of employed young people has increased the most. During the last three years, the number of employed youth has increased by a fourth, the office said.

Estonia's jobless rate has declined steadily since its 2004 entry into the European Union, which helped boost economic growth through lower interest rates and rising inflow of foreign investment.

The retail, construction and financial industries continued to power the $15.1 billion economy in the second quarter, while a cool down in manufacturing and transport slowed Estonia's growth rate to a two-and-a-half-year low of 7.3 percent in the same period, the statistics office said yesterday.

The falling jobless rate is creating a shortage of workers in skilled fields and pushing up wages. AS Tallinna Kaubamaja, the country's biggest retailer, increased staff by an annual 29 percent in the first half, while labor costs rose 41 percent in the same period.

AS Eesti Ehitus, a builder that listed last year, employed 26 percent more people in the first half, with labor costs jumping 73 percent.