The jobless rate went up to 6.7% in the fourth quarter of 2014 in Romania, from 6.5% registered in the previous three months.

Romania’s active population stood at 9.17 million people in the fourth quarter of 2014. Of this total, 618,000 were unemployed, according to latest data from the National Statistics Institute INS.

Based on gender, the unemployment rate among men (7.1%) was higher than in the case of women (6.2%). The jobless rate was also higher in the urban area (7.6%), compared to the rural area (5.7%).

Overall, the unemployment rate reached the highest level among those aged between 15 and 24 – 24.1%.

The employment rate of people aged 15-64 stood at 60.8% in the fourth quarter of last year, down 1.8 percentage points from the previous quarter.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com