According to the new sample survey for the second quarter of 2025 and recalculated first quarter data for comparability, there is an improving trend in employment statistics in Moldova.
The labor force (unemployed and employed) amounted to 783.8 thousand in the first quarter and 824.7 thousand in the second quarter, increasing by 5.2%. At the same time, within the labor force, the estimated number of unemployed according to the ILO definition was about 37.9 thousand people in the first quarter and 32.8 thousand people in the second quarter (down 13.5%).
Thus, the unemployment rate at the country level amounted to 4.8% in the first quarter and 4.0% in the second quarter. It should be noted that the number of officially registered unemployed in the National Employment Agency as of April 1, 2025 was 6.5 thousand people, and as of July 1 of this year – 4.8 thousand people.
The activity of the population, according to the new sample structure, has also risen. The labor force participation rate of the population aged 15 and older (in the total population of the same age category) was 39.7% in the first quarter of 2025 and, correspondingly, 41.8% in the second quarter of this year.
The employed population aged 15 and over in the national economy amounted to 745,900 in the first quarter and 791,900 in the second quarter, an increase of 6.2%. At the same time, the employment rate, i.e. the share of the employed in the total population – 37.8% in the first quarter of 2025 and 40.1% in the second quarter – also increased.
The quarterly growth statistics are not yet comparable to last year’s figures, but the NBS promises to rectify the situation by systematically recalculating them using the new methodology. The new survey design, called the Multifunctional Reference Sample for Social Survey (EMDOS 3), based on the results of the last census, has been implemented since the beginning of the year and assumes a different, European approach to the sample survey design. The difficulties in obtaining data on shadow employment justified the postponement of the publication of the results of the development of the Moldovan economy in the first half of 2025.
