Compared with the previous quarters, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market in the fourth quarter of 2020 were felt weaker. Over 17,000 persons age 15 and over said the epidemiological situation in the country had a direct impact on their relationship with the labor market. Of the total, the absolute majority of people were active persons, about 4% were unemployed and 6% were persons who became inactive on the labor market due to the pandemic.

The economically active persons who said that the situation at the workplace was affected by COVID-19 represented about 2% of the working population. COVID-19 affected the female population to a great extent than the male population and the urban population to a greater extent than the rural population, IPN reports, quoting the National Bureau of Statistics.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, each second affected person worked fewer hours during the week. Two persons of five worked remotely or from home, three in ten persons worked part-time, while one in ten affected persons didn’t work at all or was absent from the workplace.

In the period, the workforce in Moldova was 877,400 people, a decrease of 1.2% compared with the fourth quarter of 2019, according to the Labor Force Survey. The percentage of men in the workforce was higher than that of women. The active population was 845,600, a 0.5% decline on the corresponding period of 2019.

The salary earners represented 78.9% of the active population. The number of people out of work was of 31,800. The unemployment rate at national level was 3.6%, being lower than in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Pensioners represent the largest part of the inactive population. These are followed by persons looking after the family and by students. The NEET (not in employment, education or training) people represented 17.1% of the people aged between 15 and 24, 24.7% of those aged between 15 and 29 and 30.4% of those aged 15-34. In all these age brackets, the indicator was higher for women than for men.