The number of unemployed people in Latvia totalled 66,400 in the first quarter of 2026, which was 3,100 (4.5%) fewer than in the same period of 2025, the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP) reported. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, the number of unemployed rose by 2,600 (4.0%), however. The country’s unemployment rate stood at 7.1%, which was down 0.3 percentage points from a year earlier, but up 0.3 percentage points over a quarter. The number of long-term unemployed people was 25,800, which was 2,600 more than a year earlier and 7,800 more than a quarter earlier. Finally, the youth unemployment rate stood at 9.4% in the first quarter of 2026, which was down 6.4 percentage points over a year and down 4.1 percentage points over a quarter. Meanwhile, the number of employed people in Latvia totalled 871,200, which was 63.8% of the working-age population. Altogether 427,400 people were economically inactive, which was 31.3% of the population.
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