Unemployment in Uzbekistan returns to pre-pandemic levels 

As of April 1, the number of unemployed among the economically active population fell to 9.2%, Spot quoted the head of the information service of the Labor Ministry Mavjuda Mirzayeva as saying.

In total, at that moment, 1.4 million Uzbeks needed work. Unemployment among young people (aged 16-30 years) was 14.9%, among women – 12.8%.

For six months, employment departments provided employment services to 438,000 unemployed. 20,000 people received unemployment benefits, Mirzayeva added.

The overall unemployment rate is almost back to its 2019 levels (9.1%). For comparison, at its peak, in the pandemic year of 2020, it reached 13.2%.

Against the backdrop of easing sanitary restrictions in the fall of 2020, the number of people in need of work began to decline. Then the general unemployment decreased by more than 2%, among youth – by 3%.

In the summer of 2021, the unemployment rate fell below 10% of the labor force. By the end of September, it reached 9.4% – the closest value to the current value, but it rose slightly again in the last quarter.

The number of labor resources of Uzbekistan for the first quarter of 2022 increased by 0.2% and amounted to 19.4 million people. Of these, 13.6 million (+0.45%) are employed in the economic sectors.

Reportedly, 6.1 million people work in the official sector, another 5.7 million work in the shadow economy. Informal employment in the first three months of the year decreased by 3%.