OREANDA-NEWS. May 02, 2012. As compared to 2010, when the level of employment in the labour markets of the Baltic States was at its lowest point, the number of employed persons has now increased in all three countries – by 11 per cent in Estonia, 7.7 per cent in Latvia and 5.9 per cent in Lithuania, as the economic analysis of Baltic households prepared by SEB demonstrates (Baltic Household Outlook), reported the press-centre of SEB.

Triin Messimas, Development Manager of Private Loans at SEB, said that the Baltic States experienced surprisingly strong economic growth in 2011 and as a result of this the economies of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania grew at the fastest rate in the EU. “Solid economic growth, coupled with foreign demand and domestic consumption, supported investments and had a positive impact on the labour market.” Although employment increased, it was still much lower than before the crisis; for example, the level of employment in Latvia and Lithuania is comparable to the level of 2002-2003.

According to SEB’s economics experts who spoke at the press conference today, economic activity has increased and more jobs have been created, although migration has also impacted unemployment figures. From the first quarter of 2010, when the number of people looking for a job reached its peak, until the fourth quarter of 2011, unemployment decreased the most in Estonia. The share of people looking for a job fell by 8.4 percentage points in Estonia, 6.2 in Latvia and 4.4 in Lithuania over the last year and a half.

“This does not mean that unemployment will continue to fall at the same rate this year. It is to be expected that unemployment will continue to fall in Latvia and Lithuania and will stabilise at the level of 14 per cent. However, considering the statistical data for Estonia which indicated that job creation declined significantly in the last quarter of 2011 and unemployment increased slightly, the developments in the labour market may be less positive this year,“ noted Messimas.
Messimas explained it by the fact that the Baltic Republics, especially Lithuania and Estonia, depend greatly on export markets, and economic growth is expected to slow down this year due to lower foreign demand.

The Baltic Household Outlook is available for review here: www.seb.ee/BHO_aprill_2012