RSS
In 2017, 281 thousand economically inactive persons wanted to work, but but not seeking or not available to start work
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In 2017 the share of underemployed persons1 in the total economically active population was 2.3%, with 0.1 percentage points lower than the previous year
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Potential additional labour force2 comprised a number of 281 thousand persons, decreasing with 19.5% as compared to the previous year
Last year there were 281,000 inactive persons who wanted to work but who were not seeking a job or were not available for starting work, the National Institute for Statistics (INS) announced on Monday.
Of the inactive population aged 15 to 74 (5.907 million people) 281,000 people were last year in the potential additional labour force, down by 68,000 compared to the previous year. Of these, 277,000 were available for beginning work but were not seeking a job.
In 2017 the percentage ratio of this category to the active population has been 3 percent and only an insignificant number of the potential additional labour force were not ready to immediately start work, despite looking for a job, reads the INS release.
The potential additional labour force of 281,000 was 19.5 percent lower than in 2016.
According to INS, last year there were 207,000 persons working part-time and willing to or available for working more hours - therefore being considered underemployed. This category of persons represented 2.3 percent of the active population, 2.4 percent of the employed population and 30.3 percent of the total number of persons working part-time. Compared with the previous year, the number of underemployed persons was by 5,000 less.
The unemployment rate is the most telling indicator of the Household Labor Survey that is used to asses a multitude of economic and social aspects. In order to render a complete picture of the situation and developments on the workforce market, INS releases every year a set of three indicators representing the categories of employed or inactive population that are somehow related to the jobless or various categories of engagement on the labor market (referenced to the standard situation of their category), specifically: underemployed persons; inactive persons seeking for a job but not available to start work; inactive persons who do not seek a job but are available to start work.
Together, the last two indicators ("inactive persons seeking for a job but not available to start work" and "inactive persons who do not seek a job but are available to start work") make the "potential additional labour force".
The three-indicator set is representative of the overlap areas of the working and unemployed population on the one hand and the unemployed and inactive population on the other hand.