One mln Ukrainians get status of unemployed during quarantine year – PM Shmyhal

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says 401,000 people had the status of the unemployed in Ukraine as of May 6, 2021, while about 1 million Ukrainians registered with the State Employment Service within a quarantine year.

Read alsoStatistics agency releases updated data on unemploymentHe made the comment during an interview with the RBC Ukraine media outlet on May 11.

"I receive data from the State Employment Service every day. As of May 6, 2021, some 401,000 people had the status of the unemployed. In total, during this quarantine year, 1 million people received the status of the unemployed, according to official data. So, 665,000 people were jobless during this period," he added.

At the same time, he says, about 500,000 more jobs were saved thanks to the support for businesses and the Affordable Loans: 5%-7%-9% program.

Background

• The unemployment rate in Ukraine in the second quarter (Q2) of 2020 increased by 1.3 percentage points (pp) to 9.9% from 8.6% reported in Q1 2020, which in absolute terms numbered 1.7 million people.
• The unemployment rate in Q4 2020 rose by 0.6 pp against Q3 2020, from 9.5% to 10.1%, with the actual number of officially unemployed citizens being 1.8 million.
• The Cabinet's macroeconomic forecast for the next three years projects the unemployment rate for the population aged 15 to 70 at 9.2% in 2021, 8.5% in 2022, and 8% in 2023.
• On April 23, 2021, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) published an inflation report, with an 8.5% unemployment rate projected for 2022.