The unemployment rate decreased to 6% in the last quarter and also for the whole year 2022

By the end of 2022, the number of unemployed persons declined by almost 15,000, just below the level of 170,000 people. At the annual level, the situation improved in all regions of the SR, but in the last quarter, unemployment began to rise slightly in half of the regions.

The number of unemployed persons according to the methodology of the Labour Force Survey (LFS)¹⁾ decreased, year-on-year, in the 4^th quarter of 2022, and the unemployment trend has continued in Slovakia for one and a half year. The number of unemployed persons²⁾ reached 168.9 thousand persons, which was lower by 7.9% compared to the last three months of 2021. Compared to the previous quarter, after seasonal adjustment, it increased by 1.4% to 168.1 thousand persons.

The unemployment rate (share of unemployed among economically active persons) was 6%, year-on-year, decreased by 0.5 percentage point (p.p.).

It is not possible to compare current data from LFS over a longer period of time, in 2021 significant methodological changes occurred as a result of new EU legislation.³⁾

The pandemic significantly increased the share of the long-term unemployed, even at the end of 2022 this group of the unemployed people represented the majority (68%). There were more than 115,000 unemployed people for one year or more, but their number decreased significantly by 10,000 people (by 8%) year-on-year. Similarly, short-term unemployment fell by 8% year-on-year to almost 54,000 people (these are the unemployed, who were out of work for less than 12 months).

At the end of 2022, the year-on-year decrease in unemployment was reflected in all age categories, with the exception of young people under 25. The most significant relative and absolute decline was recorded in the age category of 25 to 34 years old, of which more than 8,000 unemployed decreased year-on-year, it was recorded a decrease of almost 17%.

From the point of view of the last employer's business activity, the most persons last worked in industry, trade and construction. Almost 30% of the unemployed (48.4 thousand people) were persons who had never worked before. School graduates are also included in this group. The highest decrease of 3.2 thousand persons during the 4^th quarter was among persons who last worked in accommodation and food service activities.

In the 4^th quarter of 2022, from a regional point of view, the number of unemployed persons decreased year-on-year in only 4 regions, in the previous quarter it was still in all 8 regions of the SR. Relatively the highest year-on-year decline above the level of 15% was recorded in Trnavský kraj and Košický kraj, the situation also improved in Banskobystrický kraj and Žilinský kraj.

On the contrary, the unemployed also increased slightly in Bratislavský kraj, their number in the 4^th quarter was 1.5 thousand higher year-on-year and reached 8.7 thousand persons. However, this is the region with the lowest long-term number of unemployed among the regions of the SR. The highest absolute number of unemployed people, more than 43,000, was in Prešovský kraj. At the same time, in this only region, the unemployment rate exceeded the double-digit threshold (10.8%), it decreased just below it in Banskobystrický kraj (9.7%). On the contrary, the lowest unemployment rate was in Bratislavský kraj (2.2%), followed by Trenčiansky kraj and Nitriansky kraj with a value of up to 4%.

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From the point of view of the dynamics of development, the most significant change was recorded in Košický kraj, in the 4^th quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate decreased year-on-year by 1.8 p.p. to a value of 9%.

Unemployment in 2022

On average, for the whole year 2022, the number of unemployed persons was 170.4 thousand people, year-on-year, this number decreased by more than 17 thousand persons (by 9.2%). The unemployment rate in the SR reached 6.1% in 2022, which was less than in 2021, when the unemployment rate reached 6.8%.

According to the business activity of the last employer, the number of unemployed people who last worked in accommodation and food service activities (by 8.8 thousand people) and in industry (by 4.4 thousand people) decreased the most.

From a regional point of view, on annual basis, the number of unemployed decreased in all eight regions compared to 2021. The most significant absolute and relative decrease in the number of unemployed persons was recorded in Trnavský kraj, their number decreased by 4.9 thousand people (by 27.3%). The number of unemployed persons also declined by approximately 3.5 thousand people in Žilinský kraj (by 20%) and in Košický kraj (by 8.7%).

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The unemployment rate for the whole year 2022 also decreased in all regions, most dynamically in Trnavský kraj by 1.6 p.p. and in Žilinský kraj by 1 p.p., but these are regions with a lower unemployment rate below the level of 5%. The highest unemployment rate of more than 9% even at annual level was recorded in Prešovský kraj, Banskobystrický kraj and Košický kraj.