Estonia Unemployment Rate Drops to 6.6% in Q2

Estonia’s unemployment rate fell to 6.6% in the second quarter of 2026 from 7.8% in the corresponding period last year, marking the lowest second-quarter reading since 2023. The number of unemployed persons declined by 10.2 thousand from a year ago to 49 thousand, comprising 24.6 thousand men and 24.4 thousand women. Unemployment among women decreased to 6.6% from 7.2%, while the rate for men fell to 6.6% from 8.4% in the same period a year ago. Across age groups, the youth unemployment rate, aged 15 to 24, decreased to 22.4% from 25.4%, while the rate for those aged 25–49 fell to 5.3% from 6.7% and for those aged 50–74 declined to 4.8% from 5.6%. The number of people not participating in the labor force, or economically inactive increased 13.1 thousand compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, employment decreased by 5.7 thousand to 691.6 thousand and the labor force participation rate fell by 1.4 percentage points to 73.4%.

Estonia’s unemployment rate fell to 7.1% in the first quarter of 2026 from an eleven-year high of 8.6% in the corresponding period last year. The number of unemployed decreased by 12.0 thousand to 52.2 thousand. Of this total, 25.6 thousand were men, compared with 33.7 thousand a year earlier, while 26.7 thousand were women, compared with 30.5 thousand previously. Across age groups, the youth unemployment rate (aged 15–24) rose by 4.0 percentage points to 22.8%, while the rate for those aged 25–49 fell to 6.2% from 8.2%, and for those aged 50–74 declined to 5.2% from 6.9%. Meanwhile, the employment rate rose to 68.0% from 67.4% a year earlier, while the number of employed increased by 4.7 thousand to 686.3 thousand. The labour force participation rate eased to 73.2% from 73.7% a year earlier.

The unemployment rate in Estonia dropped to 6.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025 from 7.4% in the same period a year earlier. The latest figure marked the lowest jobless rate since the fourth quarter of 2023, as the number of unemployed persons fell by 8.2 thousand from a year ago to 47.1 thousand. Unemployment among women decreased to 5% from 7.2%, while the rate for men increased to 7.8% from 7.5% in the same period a year ago. Across age groups, the youth unemployment rate, aged 15 to 24, rose by 1.4 percentage points to 18.1%, while the rate for those aged 25–49 fell to 6.2% from 7.4% and for those aged 50–74 declined to 4.3% from 5.2%. Meanwhile, employment decreased by 6.2 thousand to 688.6 thousand and the labor force participation rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 68.1%. For full-year 2025, the unemployment rate averaged 7.5%, compared with 7.6% in 2024, with the average number of unemployed falling by 900 to 56,200.