Latvia Unemployment Rate at 1-Year High

2026-05-22 10:32 By Mariene Camarillo 1 min. read

Latvia’s unemployment rate rose to 7.1% in the first quarter of 2026 from 6.7% in the previous quarter, but was down from 7.4% in the same period last year.

This marked the highest reading since the first quarter of 2025, as the number of unemployed persons increased by 2.6 thousand quarter-on-quarter to 66.4 thousand.

The jobless rate for men fell to 7.2% from 7.6%, with the number of unemployed men at 32.9 thousand, while the rate for women rose to 7% from 5.9%, with unemployed women totaling 33.4 thousand.

Meanwhile, total employment dropped by 11.6 thousand to 871.2 thousand, bringing the employment rate to 63.8%, down 1 percentage point from the fourth quarter.

The youth unemployment rate (ages 15–24) fell to 9.4%, equivalent to 6.2 thousand people, decreasing by 4.1 percentage points from Q4.

At the same time, 16.6% of the population aged 20–64, or 173.6 thousand people, remained economically inactive, down by 5.6 thousand from the corresponding period a year earlier.



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Latvia Unemployment Rate at 1-Year High
Latvia’s unemployment rate rose to 7.1% in the first quarter of 2026 from 6.7% in the previous quarter, but was down from 7.4% in the same period last year. This marked the highest reading since the first quarter of 2025, as the number of unemployed persons increased by 2.6 thousand quarter-on-quarter to 66.4 thousand. The jobless rate for men fell to 7.2% from 7.6%, with the number of unemployed men at 32.9 thousand, while the rate for women rose to 7% from 5.9%, with unemployed women totaling 33.4 thousand. Meanwhile, total employment dropped by 11.6 thousand to 871.2 thousand, bringing the employment rate to 63.8%, down 1 percentage point from the fourth quarter. The youth unemployment rate (ages 15–24) fell to 9.4%, equivalent to 6.2 thousand people, decreasing by 4.1 percentage points from Q4. At the same time, 16.6% of the population aged 20–64, or 173.6 thousand people, remained economically inactive, down by 5.6 thousand from the corresponding period a year earlier.
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Latvia’s Unemployment Falls to 6.7% in Q4 2025
Latvia’s unemployment rate declined to 6.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025, down from 6.9% in the previous quarter and the same period last year. The number of unemployed fell to 63.8 thousand from 66.2 thousand in Q3, while total employment dropped to 882.8 thousand from 892.1 thousand, bringing the employment rate to 64.8%, down 0.4 percentage points quarter on quarter. Youth unemployment rose to 13.5%, up 1.4 percentage points from Q3, even as the number of unemployed young people slightly fell by 0.3 thousand to 8.5 thousand, accounting for 13.3% of all unemployed. Meanwhile, 30.6% of the population aged 15–74, or 416.8 thousand people, remained economically inactive, an increase of 6.2 thousand from the previous quarter.
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Latvia Unemployment Rate Rises to 6.9% in Q3
The unemployment rate in Latvia rose to 6.9% in the third quarter of 2025 from 6.7% in the previous quarter. The number of unemployed persons rose by 2.5 thousand quarter-on-quarter to 66.2 thousand, with male unemployment increasing by 3.7 thousand while female unemployment fell by 1.2 thousand. The share of long-term unemployed, those out of work for 12 months or more, climbed to 39.9% from 33.3% in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the employment rate went up to 65.2% from 64.9%, with the number of employed individuals rising by 2.7 thousand to 892.1 thousand. During this period, 30.0% of the population aged 15–74 was economically inactive, slightly lower than 30.4% in the prior quarter.
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