Analytics, Employment, Labour-market, Latvia, Markets and Companies

The internet poll was carried out over a period of four weeks, polling 5,061 respondents.

The questions asked in the poll included such as, what motivating factors are determinant in choosing a company to work for, which employers seem the most appealing to respondents, and how companies, in respondents' view, motivate their employees.

This year's poll reveals that the company's stability is viewed as the key factor; in 2008 the main criterion was a competitive salary.

A positive trend observed in this year's poll is that, compared with the last year, a smaller number of respondents indicated that they received their entire salary or a part of it "in an envelope". In 2008, 13.1% of respondents admitted being paid under the table, while in 2009 this number has dropped to 11.8%.

On the other hand, the number of delayed salary payments has increased from 6.9% in 2008 to 9.2% this year.

Manufacturers, telecommunication companies, port and transit service providers and large state-owned companies were named as the most coveted employers. The steepest drop in popularity was registered with state institutions and banks. No change in popularity with employees and job seekers was observed for media companies and publishing houses.

WorkingDay Latvia points out that any public information regarding a company influences people's opinion about their potential employers. For example, Parex banka has dropped from 10th place in 2008 to 116th in 2009.

It is the third time that WorkingDay conducts the poll to find out Latvia's most popular employers.

Swedbank was named the most popular employer in 2008; 4,938 respondents participated in the poll last year.