It was the highest jobless rate since Q2 of 2021, as the number of unemployed increased by 8.500 to 50.200, while employed persons grew by 21.300 to 694.800.

There were 23.500 unemployed men, down from 23.700 from a year earlier, while 26.700 unemployed women, up from 18.000.

Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate edged up to 74.2% in Q2 of 2023, from 73.1% in the same period of the previous year, while the employment rate went up to 69.2% from 68.8%, the Tallinn-based agency said.