Romanian 4Q Jobless Rate Dn YY To 5.8% Vs 6.1%

The country’s jobless rate in the October-December period was up 0.4 percentage points compared with 5.4% in the previous quarter of 2008.

The number of unemployed totaled 568,000 in the fourth quarter of the year. The male population reported an unemployment rate of 6.7% while the female jobless rate stood at 4.6% in the third quarter of the year.

On regional basis, the unemployment rate was higher in the urban area, at 6.5% compared with 4.9% in the rural area.

In 2007, Romania’s unemployment rate hit a 16-year low at 4.3%, down from 5.4% in 2006, and is on a downward trend due to the ongoing labor crisis caused by a diminishing work force. An estimated two million Romanians are working abroad.