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The unemployment rate rose to 3.9 pct in the fourth quarter of 2019, up 0.1 percentage points from the one recorded in the previous quarter, the highest level, 18.5 pct, being registered among young people aged 15 to 24, according to data published on Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
By gender, the unemployment gap was 1.3 percentage points (4.5 pct in men versus 3.2 pct in women), whereas by residence, the gap was 2.1 percentage points (5.1 pct in rural areas, compared to 3 pct in urban areas).
According to the INS, in the fourth quarter of 2019, the employment rate of the population aged 20-64 was 71.1 pct, by 1.1 percentage points above the national target of 70 pct set in the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy.
In the fourth quarter of 2019, Romania's active population was 9.008 million people, of which 8.654 million people were employed and 354,000 were unemployed.
Moreover, the employment rate of the working age population (15-64 years), in the fourth quarter of 2019, was 66 pct, down from the previous quarter by 0.7 percentage points.
The employment rate was higher in men (75.2 pct compared to 56.6 ct in women) and in people in urban areas (67.8 pct compared to 63.9 pct in rural areas). The employment rate of young people (15-24 years) stood at 24.4 pct.
