Stats: Unemployment Rate Hit Record Low of 5.3 percent in 2024

Bratislava, March 4 (TASR) - The unemployment rate for the whole of 2024 set a new record, for the first time falling below the level of 5.5 percent to 5.3 percent, the Statistics Office reported on Tuesday. The number of jobless people reached almost 148,000 on average last year, down by 14,200 individuals (8.8 percent) year-on-year (y-o-y). The unemployment rate posted all-time lows in all regions of Slovakia last year. Bratislava region, which has had the lowest unemployment rate long term, saw a rate of 2.2 percent last year. Zilina, Trencin, Nitra and Trnava regions reported unemployment rates below 4 percent. Banska Bystrica and Kosice posted higher unemployment rates, ranging between 7 and 9 percent, while Presov region still recorded a double-digit figure (10.6 percent). In the final quarter of 2024, the number of unemployed declined by 7.5 percent y-o-y, or by 11,800 individuals to 145,300. Seasonally adjusted, the number of jobless people went down by 1.3 percent from the previous quarter to 144,000. The benchmark unemployment rate fell to 5.2 percent, which was a record low, like the one seen in the second quarter of 2024. The unemployment rate is calculated according to the ratio of the number of unemployed against the number of economically active individuals. ko/df