Industrial production in the Baltic States increased the most in Latvia in August 2025, compared to a year earlier. In Estonia, the total production of industrial enterprises increased by 1%, compared to August 2024, according to Statistics Estonia’s data, ERR reported. Output rose by 2.5% in manufacturing and 0.7% in mining but dropped by 20.7%…
Employer and trade union groups in Estonia have begun talks on raising the minimum wage, ERR reports. Under an agreement signed in 2022, the minimum wage was to rise to 50% of the average wage by 2027. The monthly minimum wage would thus increase by about EUR 100 to just under EUR 1,000 in 2026….
Non-cash payments accounted for 74% of consumer payments in Latvia in August 2025, which was down from record 78% in February 2025, according to the Bank of Latvia’s latest payment radar survey conducted by Latvijas Fakti, The Baltic Times reports. Meanwhile, cash payments accounted for 26% (22%) of all payments. In recent years, the share…
Housing prices in Latvia increased by 6.7% in the second quarter of 2025, compared to the same period of 2024, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. Compared to the first quarter of 2025, housing prices rose by 3.2%. The increase in housing prices in Latvia was higher than the EU average, according to Eurostat’s House…
Employee optimism about wage growth is waning in the Baltic States, according to Citadele Bank’s Purchasing Barometer survey in August 2025, BNS reports. The survey showed that 15% of Lithuanian workers expect a pay rise in the next three months, compared to 12% in Latvia and just 6% in Estonia. Meanwhile, 10% of workers in…
Lithuanians are the most active savers in the Baltic States, according to a September 2025 poll for Luminor Bank, The Baltic Times reports. In the survey, 23% of Lithuanians, 17% of Estonians, and 14% of Latvians said that they were able to save more than 10% of their income regularly. As many as 43% of…
The Foreign Investors Council in Latvia (FICIL) has called for reforming the country’s labour laws, LSM reports. FICIL said that Latvia’s labour market faced “growing structural challenges”, which it said were “driven by demographic decline, a mismatch between labour skills and market needs, and outdated regulations.” The business lobby group called for reforms to “enhance…
Economic confidence and sense of security among Estonian residents increased in September 2025, according to a new Turu-Uuringute survey for the government, ERR reports. The survey showed that 67% of Estonian residents were satisfied with life, which was up from 64% in June 2025. Meanwhile, 48% (58%) felt economic uncertainty and 29% (34%) felt the…
The Latvian government will need to borrow EUR 3.8bn on international financial markets in 2026 and EUR 4.3bn in 2027, according to Janis Rozenbergs, deputy manager of the State Treasury, LETA reports. He told the budget and finance committee of the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, that the government needed around EUR 2bn per year to…