Slovakia's unemployment rate rose to 9.03 percent in January

The unemployment rate in Slovakia reached 9.03 percent in January.This represents a month-on-month increase of 0.64 percentage points and a year-on-year rise of 0.97 percentage points. The number of officially-registered job seekers reached 269,465 in January.
The highest unemployment rate was recorded in the Rimavská Sobota district in the Banská Bystrica Region at 29.11 percent, while the lowest was registered in the 1st district of Bratislava at 1.53 percent. Between October 2008 and mid-February, 156 mass layoffs were announced to job centres, and 12,154 jobs are currently in danger.According to Sihelský, his office lists 9,117 job vacancies at the moment, mainly for professional workers, craftsmen and printers.
Sihelský noted that the Government has adopted 62 measures aimed at reducing the effects of the global economic crisis. More than 1,100 people who have returned from other EU countries registered themselves at Slovak job centres in January. Most came from the Czech Republic. According to ÚPSVAR's economic and statistics department, further rises in unemployment can be expected in the coming months.