Lithuania's August unemployment rises to 8% as job vacancies increase

On August 1, Lithuania registered 145,700 unemployed people, pushing the unemployment rate to 8 % – up 0.3 percentage points and 2.9 % from the previous month. The Employment Service reported that unemployment grew in 39 municipalities, fell in 16 and remained unchanged in 7. The lowest rates were recorded in Neringa, Birštonas, Joniškis, Kretinga and Šilalė, while the highest were in Kalvarija, Ignalina, Zarasai, Anykščiai and Visaginas.

The number of vacant jobs stayed above 15 000 for the fifth consecutive month, with employers posting 15,200 new offers. Vacancies were concentrated in manufacturing (3.2 k), administration and services (2.4 k), trade (2.3 k) and construction (1.6 k). The employed population reached 1.47 million, an increase of 1.3 k. The average gross salary for newly advertised positions was €1,735, 10 % higher than a year earlier and 22 % higher than two years ago. As Employment Service analyst Jurgita Zemblytė noted, “We see more signs of slowdown than weakening, but the overall direction remains favourable.”