Recorded unemployment, still down

Official unemployment figures dropped as low as 10.5% in July, from 10.8% in June, the National Employment and Professional Training Agency (ANOFP) said. There were 1,028,090 jobless in July, against 1,066,959 a month earlier, of which 45.7% come from the private sector.

Women accounted for 47.4% of the total. Neamt county was leading nation-wide with a 16.9% unemployment rate, followed by Botosani with 16.8%. Hunedoara, last month’s leader, was third with 16.3%. Unemployment remains lowest in Satu Mare (4.5%), followed by Bucharest (5.4%), Bihor (5.4%) and Vrancea (6.6%).

Out of the total unemployed population, 74.1% are workers, 22.9% have medium education and only 3% have higher education. According to Eugen Maniac, head of the Hunedoara employment agency, official figures are down because many people saw their official unemployed status expire; also, seasonal jobs are more widely available during the summer. ZF