Tomas: Unemployment Rate Down to 4.16 percent in February 2026

Bratislava, 19 March (TASR) - Unemployment in Slovakia declined in February 2026, with the share of jobseekers available for work in the working-age population standing at 4.16 percent, down by 0.26 percentage points from the previous month, Labour Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD) told a news conference held on Thursday with Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Centre (UPSVaR) head Peter Ormandy in attendance. "The unemployment rate levelled out at 4.16 percent in February. As many as 9,523 unemployed were taken off labour office registers. This is the steepest unemployment drop seen in the past five years," stated the minister, adding that unemployment fell in all regions and in 72 districts of Slovakia. Tomas stressed that unemployment also decreased significantly in problematic districts, such as Rimavska Sobota (down 2.69 percent) and Revuca (3.9 percent). "We must note that there was also a drop in two high-risk age groups, namely among jobseekers under 29 years and in the 25+ category," he said. "We have the highest-ever number of job vacancies: 122,434. Slovakia has never posted so many vacancies since measurements began in 2000," stated the minister. He noted that 62 mass lay-offs were reported last year, putting 6,400 people at risk of losing their jobs, but only 2,300 people were actually laid off in the end. "And the opposition made a disaster out of that," said Tomas. According to predictions by the ministry's Social Policy Institute, a positive scenario for developments in unemployment can be expected. "Construction, agriculture and seasonal work will revive. Therefore, this trend in unemployment should continue into the summer months. The biggest risk is the current escalation of the conflict in the Persian Gulf and the related growth in oil prices. This could have a negative impact on unemployment. We'll see how the situation unfolds," added Tomas. ko/df