The unemployment rate in Moldova declined to 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 from 3.3 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year. The number of unemployed persons fell by 6.1 thousand to 34.2 thousand and the number of employed rose by 6.3 thousand to 1,163.6 thousand. Meanwhile, the labour force participation rate fell to 40.2 percent from 40.6 percent a year earlier. The unemployment rate for men was 3.6 percent and for women it was 2.1 percent. The rate was significantly higher in urban areas (4 percent) than in rural areas (1.9 percent). Among young people (15-24 years), the jobless rate was recorded at 5.5 percent, compared to 11.8 percent in Q4 2017. In the third quarter, unemployment rate was lower at 2.2 percent. Unemployment Rate in Moldova averaged 6.03 percent from 2000 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 13 percent in the first quarter of 2006 and a record low of 2.20 percent in the third quarter of 2018.
Unemployment Rate in Moldova is expected to be 3.80 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Unemployment Rate in Moldova to stand at 2.80 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Moldova Unemployment Rate is projected to trend around 2.70 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.