Labor economics

Unemployment decreased by 0.1% on a monthly basis in March of this year and 1.1% year-on-year, data from Bulgaria's labor agency shows.

The Agency for Employment says that 28 063 people found a job in March, 4502 more than the number of jobs added in February.

Unemployment in Greece stood at 25.6 percent in March, unchanged compared to the previous month, the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) announced on Thursday.

The unemployment figure for March was lower than the 26.9 percent figure recorded the same month last year.

The corrected percentage of unemployment in January of 2015 rose to 25.7% compared to 27.2% of January 2014, and 25.9% in December of 2014. The total amount of employed individuals in January 2015 is estimated at 3,534,594. Unemployed individuals were at 1,220,828.

By Nikos Roussanoglou

The rate of the drop in rents across the country increased in the January-September period according to data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority and the Bank of Greece, which concur with the estate agencies’ conclusions.

Montenegrin trade unions representing the health, education, defence and army sectors agreed on Wednesday to hold a street protest on December 6 after the government announced cuts to the public sector wage bill in the 2015 budget.  

A union representing workers in the private sector in Kosovo said his members were suffering badly in comparison to workers in the public sector - whose wages have been raised repeatedly by the government.

Jusuf Azemi, leader of the Independent Trade Union of Private Sector workers, told Balkan Insight that some workers in the private sector were struggling on only 120 euros a month.

The unemployment rate in Montenegro has risen by a sixth consecutive month, and is now 2 per cent higher compared to the same period last year, the latest data show.

The Employment Bureau on Tuesday reported that the number of unemployed adults rose to 31,190 in September and to 32,670 this week.

Asen Angelov, Executive Director of Bulgaria's Employment Agency, has underscored the inefficiency of labor market policy, drawing attention to the fact that they have remained unchanged for over eight years and have only had a temporary effect.

A total of 8,000 new jobs will be financed under an employment project as the first framework contracts with employers have already been signed, Bulgaria's National Employment Agency announced.

Some 5,000 unemployed Bulgarians are expected to be hired by the end of October 2014, money.bg reports.

The slowdown in economic activity is taking its toll on employment. According to figures released on Oct. 15, the seasonally adjusted non-farm unemployment rate surged to 12.5 percent in July.