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In 2021, the number of employed persons in the country totalled 1 million 368.6 thousand, that of the unemployed – 104.8 thousand and inactive persons (neither working nor seeking for a job) aged 15 and older – 889.3 thousand. The number of persons attributed to the labour force totalled 1 million 473.4 thousand. Over the year, the labour force decreased by 10.7 thousand persons (0.7 per cent).

In 2021, the activity rate of persons aged 15–74 accounted for 70.2 per cent. Over the year, the share of employed persons of this age increased by 0.7 percentage point and made up 65.2 per cent, the share of unemployed persons – decreased by 1 percentage point and made up 5 per cent. Over the year, the share of inactive persons aged 15–74 increased by 0.3 percentage point and made up 29.8 per cent in 2021.

Persons aged 15–74 by economic activity

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators

In 2021, 67.6 per cent of men aged 15–74 were employed, 5.6 per cent of men of the said age group were unemployed, and 26.8 per cent – economically inactive. Among women aged 15–74, the share of the employed stood at 62.9 per cent, while 4.5 per cent of women were unemployed, and 32.6 per cent – inactive.

In 2021, 63.4 per cent of young (aged 15–24) persons were inactive, 31.4 per cent – employed, 5.2 per cent – unemployed. In 2021, economically most active population – persons aged 35–39: 87 per cent of them were employed, and 5.3 per cent – unemployed.

Economic activity of persons aged 15 and older by age group, 2021

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators

Over a year, the labour force activity rate of population aged 15–64 decreased by 0.2 percentage point (from 78.5 per cent in 2020 to 78.3 per cent in 2021). The male activity rate decreased by 0.5 percentage point (from 79.9 per cent in 2020 to 79.4 per cent in 2021), the female – increased by 0.1 percentage point (from 77.2 per cent in 2020 to 77.3 per cent in 2021).

Over a year, the activity rate of population aged 15–24 did not change and was 36.6 per cent, that of population aged 25–54 – decreased by 0.2 percentage point (from 90.4 per cent in 2020 to 90.2 per cent in 2021), while that of population aged 55–64 decreased by 1 percentage point (from 75 per cent in 2020 to 74 per cent in 2021).

Labour force activity rate by age group

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators

In 2021, the share of inactive persons aged 15 years and older accounted for 37.6 per cent of the total population of this age. The proportion of inactive women of this age group exceeded that of men (42.6 and 31.8 per cent respectively). This difference among the economic activity of men and women aged 15 and older is probably due to longer life expectancy of women, their earlier retirement age and time of child-raising.

Share of inactive persons aged 15 years and older in the total population by sex

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators

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In 2021, 10.9 per cent of persons aged 15–24 were not in employment, education or training. Over the year, the proportion of such persons increased by 0.1 percentage point. The share of men who were neither working, studying nor participating in trainings decreased by 1.2 percentage points (from 12.2 in 2020 to 11 per cent in 2021), women – increased by 1.6 percentage points (from 9.2 in 2020 to 10.8 per cent in 2021).

Young people aged 15–29 years neither in employment nor in education and training

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators

For monitoring situation in the labour market, three additional statistical indicators have been developed:

• Employed persons working part-time who wish to work additional hours and are available to do so;
• Persons actively seeking employment but not ready to start working within the next two weeks;
• Persons available for work within the next two weeks but not actively seeking employment.

Population by status of economic activity

In 2021, the number of employed persons working part-time aged 15–74 totalled 92.3 thousand (6.8 per cent), though 18.6 thousand of them wished to work additional hours. Proportion of men wishing to work additional hours  accounted for 1.1 per cent, that of women – 1.6 per cent of the total employed persons aged 15–74.

In 2021, the number of inactive population aged 15–74 amounted to 623.7 thousand, of whom 10.9 thousand were actively seeking work but not ready to start working within the next two weeks, and 20.5 thousand persons who were ready to start working within the next two weeks but not actively seeking employment.

Persons who are actively seeking work but not ready to start working, and persons available for work but not actively seeking employment shall be attributed to the potential additional labour force. In 2021, potential additional labour force made up 2.1 per cent of the labour force aged 15–74.

Potential additional labour force (aged 15–74)

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators

Some trends have been observed in the analysis of economic activity of the population. In 2021, 72.9 per cent of the total number of employed persons were engaged in the private sector, 88.4 per cent – were employees, and 11 per cent – self-employed. Differences among men and women are clear. Although persons of both genders prefer to be employees, the share of self-employed men exceeds that of women (13.2 and 8.8 per cent respectively), while in the public sector, the situation is quite opposite – the proportion of women is almost twice bigger than that of men. Female lifelong learning rate is higher than male (10.2 and 6.7 per cent respectively). Among the population aged 18–24, the share of women without the medium level of education and not in education is lower than that of men (4.3 and 6.4 per cent respectively), and the number of unemployed women aged 15–74 is by 8.4 thousand lower than that of men.

Indicators of economic activity of the population by sex, 2021
Thous.

More detailed data are available in the table Main indicators of economic activity of the population (XLSX)

In 2021, the major share of the inactive population aged 15–74 indicated that they were not seeking employment because they were either retired (42.6 per cent) or in education (26.2 per cent). Illness or disability was more frequently indicated as the main reason by men than women (men – 21.7 per cent, women – 11.5 per cent).

Inactive persons aged 15–74 by the main reason for not seeking employment, 2021

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators

In 2021, in the EU, the activity rate of persons aged 15–64 stood at 73.6 per cent. The highest activity rate among the population aged 15–64 was recorded in the Netherlands (83.7 per cent), Sweden (82.9 per cent), Denmark (79.6 per cent), and Estonia (79.1 per cent), while the lowest – in Italy (64.5 per cent), Romania (65.6 per cent), and Greece (67.3 per cent). In 2021, in Lithuania, the activity rate of the population aged 15–64 stood at 78.2 per cent.

Labour force activity rate in the EU countries, 2021
Persons aged 15–64

Source: Eurostat’s database, 22 July 2022

Labour force activity rate in the EU countries by sex, 2021
Persons aged 15–64
Per cent

Source: Eurostat's database, 22 July 2022 

Potential additional labour force in the EU countries, 2021
Persons aged 15–74

  /  – data is not presented since the error of statistical estimate exceeds the accepted allowable value.
(  ) – insufficient accuracy of statistical estimate.

Source: Eurostat’s database, 22 July 2022

More:

Labour force by age group

Labour force activity rate by educational attainment

For further terms, see the Dictionary of Statistical Terms.