OREANDA-NEWS. April 16, 2013. In all three Baltic States, households are still in asset accumulation mode, but there are signs that borrowing is recovering, as is demonstrated by the SEB Baltic Household Outlook. The reason for the recovery is the continuing improvement of the situation on the labour market and the expected accelerated growth of real wages. Post 2008, unemployment in Estonia can once again be expressed in single numbers.
 
Continued growth trend of employment
In 2012, employment increased in all three Baltic States while unemployment decreased. In terms of decreased unemployment, Estonia was ahead of the other two Baltic States. In the fourth quarter of last year the unemployment level (number of unemployed) in Estonia fell by 2.1 percentage points to 9.3%. In Latvia, unemployment fell in the last quarter of 2012 by 1.2 percentage points to 13.8%, while in Lithuania the level of unemployment was 13%, which is 0.7% lower than in the same period in 2011.

“The decrease in the level of unemployment is due to the creation of jobs as well as emigration. Presumably, job creation will continue, albeit at a lower rate, and unemployment may decrease at about the same rate as employment increases,” said SEB Latvia’s social economy expert Edmunds Rudzitis.

It is estimated that the wage increase will pick up speed
Analysts for the SEB Baltic Household Outlook expect the wage increase in all three Baltic States to pick up speed. The wage increase is influenced by monthly changes in the minimum wage. In January 2013, the monthly minimum wage in Lithuania increased to about EUR 290 and in Estonia to EUR 320. In Latvia, the minimum wage has remained unchanged at around EUR 285. Presumably, the minimum wage in Latvia will increase to EUR 320 next year.