Unemployment slightly decreased in the first quarter of 2026 to 15%, compared to 15.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to data published on May 15 by the National Institute of Statistics. This rate stands at 14.4% in urban areas and 16.5% in rural areas.
The number of unemployed people decreased to 641,700, compared to 645,200 in the previous quarter. At the same time, the active population increased to 4.268 million people, compared to 4.255 million at the end of 2025, representing an increase of 13,000 active individuals. The activity rate of people aged 15 and over stood at 45.9%, compared to 45.4% in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, the number of employed individuals reached 3.626.3 thousand, compared to 3.609.8 thousand in the previous quarter, representing an increase of 16,500 employed individuals. The employed population consists of 2.532.2 thousand men and 1.094.1 thousand women, representing 69.8% and 30.2% of all employed individuals, respectively.
The services sector remains the main provider of jobs, with 52.9% of workers, followed by manufacturing industries (19%), non-manufacturing industries (12.3%), as well as agriculture and fishing (15.7%).
By gender, the unemployment rate for men decreased to 12.3%, compared to 12.6% in the previous quarter. The rate for women slightly decreased, from 20.8% to 20.7%. Territorial disparities persist, with higher unemployment in rural areas (16.5%) than in urban areas (14.4%).
Unemployment among young people aged 15 to 24 decreased to 37.5%, down from 38.4% in the previous quarter. However, the situation for graduates of higher education continues to deteriorate: their unemployment rate increased from 22.5% to 24.2%. Disparities remain significant between genders, with a rate of 14.2% among male graduates, compared to 32% among female graduates.
