Romania’s unemployment rate increased in the first quarter of the year to 7.4% from 6.7% in the previous three months. The number of unemployed reached 655,000, according to the National Institute of Statistics.

Some 6% of Romania’s working age women had no jobs, whereas the unemployment rate among men reached 8.4%. The unemployment rate was highest in the cities than the villages (7.6% compared to 7.1%).

The young people aged 15-24 were the most affected, with a 24.7% unemployment rate.

Romania’s active population totaled 8.89 million in the first quarter, 8.23 million of which were employed and 665,000 unemployed.

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