Analytics, Employment, Estonia, Financial Services, Insurance

Of the 33,268 registered unemployed, 10,233 people or 19.2% more than in March 2017 were persons with limited capacity for work. The share of persons with limited capacity for work among unemployed persons rose 4.3%age points on year to 30.8%, it appears from the statistics of the Unemployment Insurance Fund.

The rate of registered unemployment remained the highest in East-Viru County with 10.1%. Unemployment was lowest in Harju County with 3.7%. Unskilled workers made up the biggest part of the registered jobless who had previously worked, accounting for 22% of the total, ahead of skilled workers and craftsmen at 19% and service and sales personnel at 17%.

As an average of the first quarter of 2018, altogether 33,398 people had registered as unemployed. Compared to the first quarter of 2017, the number of registered unemployed has increased by 5%, due to an increase in the number of customers with reduced capacity for work. The number of those registered unemployed, whose capacity for work has not decreased, is 4% lower than the year before. The registered unemployment rate in the first quarter amounted to 5.1%, which is 0.2%age points higher than the year before and 0.4%age points higher than in the previous quarter.

According to head of the Unemployment Insurance Fund's analysis department Margit Paulus, with the fourth quarter of last year, the number of registered unemployed in the first quarter increased 10%, which is slightly less than in previous years, when the growth in the number of registered unemployed in the first quarter was 14-15% compared to the previous quarter.

During the month 4,753 new offers were added to the job offers available via the Unemployment Insurance Fund, 69% of which through the e-Unemployment Insurance Fund, which was 28% more than in February and 16% less than at the same time last year. The Unemployment Insurance Fund had a total of 8,983 jobs on offer during the month. The biggest part of jobs on offer were for service and sales personnel with 23%, unskilled workers with 20% and skilled workers and craftsmen with 18% of all jobs.

During the first quarter of 2018 altogether 12,811 new offers were added to the job offers available via the Unemployment Insurance Fund, which is 11% less than in the first quarter of 2017. Compared to the previous quarter, there were 5% more new job offers added in the first quarter. During the month of March 3,211 people, including 640 persons with limited capacity for work, found employment or started business with the help of the Unemployment Insurance Fund.