Page 26 - CE Outlook Regions 2024

of 2010, which unfortunately means the need to also cut employee numbers.
2.2.5 Unemployment
The labour market remains resilient. In early 2023, despite the economic slowdown, employment has seen two quarters of strong growth. In 2024 and 2025, as GDP growth picks up, but also due to falling labour supply, the labour market is expected to tighten, leading to a slight decrease of unemployment.
As estimated by the IMF, the unemployment rate in Lithuania should reach 7.8% at the end of 2023 before reducing to 6.7% in 2024.
In the long term, the Latvian unemployment rate is projected to trend around 6.6% in 2024.
Estonia’s central bank, Eesti Pank, estimates that unemployment will rise to 8% in 2024. Although unemployment has been slowly increasing in recent months, employment in Estonia remains very high compared to the rest of Europe and also the Estonian long-term average.
26 CE Outlook 2021 www.intellinews.com