Latvia's unemployment rate increased sequentially in the first quarter, data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics showed Tuesday.
The unemployment rate increased to 16.3 percent in the first quarter from 15 percent in the fourth quarter. The latest figure was, however, lower than 17.6 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2011.
There ware approximately 166,700 unemployed persons in the country during the first quarter, up from about 155,000 in the preceding quarter.
Meanwhile, the employment rate dropped to 54.5 percent during the three-month period from 55 percent in the three months ended December 2011. The number of employed persons decreased to 857,600 from around 876,700 in the fourth quarter.
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