Unemployment rate in Q4-08 down 5.4 percent

The rate of unemployment in Moldova in the final quarter of 2008 stood at 3.9 percent, down by 5.4 percent on the similar period of the previous year, Info-Prim Neo learned from the National Bureau of Statistics. The number of the unemployed, as counted by the International Labor Bureau's methodology, was approximately 48,300, by 18,600 fewer than in the final quarter of 2007. The unemployment affected men at a greater degree – 59.6 percent, as well as the persons in rural areas – 63.7 percent. The economically active population (the employed population plus the unemployed) stood at 1,232,300 persons, up by 17,700 (14 percent). The number of the unemployed totaled 1,184,000 persons. The ratio of men to women was almost 1:1. 52.1 percent of the employed are in rural areas, while the remaining 47.9 percent are in urban communities. The number of the employed in farming and agriculture was 305,000, accounting for 25.8 percent of the total. 53 percent of them are self-employed. The number of the employed in non-farming activities was 879,000 ( plus 25,000 on the similar period of 2007). The share of the employed in industry and construction stood at 13.2 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively. The services sector accounted for the biggest share of the employed – 53.8 percent of the total, increasing by 1.2 percentage point on Q4 of 2007. 66.9 percent of the population worked in privately-owned enterprises, 28.7 percent in the public sector or state-owned companies, and 4.3 percent in public-private enterprises or companies with foreign participation. The inactive population consists of two major classes – the discouraged unemployed (23,100 persons), and persons reported to be working abroad (327,500 persons). About two-thirds of those reported to be working abroad are men.