The unemployment rate in Uzbekistan topped 9.3% in 2018, the Employment Ministry said based on sociological survey conducted in 66 cities and townships.
The survey was conducted by the National Scientific Center for Employment under the Ministry and covered 330 self-government bodies, 3,300 households and nearly17.4 thousand individuals.
Compared to 2017, the unemployment rate increased by 3.5%, however the Ministry noted that this was not due to increase in the number of jobless, but rather to better calculation technique.
The highest unemployment rate was recorded in Kashkadarya, Samarkand and Fergana provinces - 9.7%, the lowest - in Tashkent (7.9%).
The youth (under 30) unemployment was at 15.1%, those aged between 16 and 25 - over 17%, and women - 12.9%.
The total number of manpower stands at 18.84 million.
208.9 thousand less people migrated to work abroad, with the decrease being reportedly due the expiration of their labor contracts.
Better calculation methods allowed to obtain more reliable employment figures in the informal sector - 7 million 870.1 thousand (59.3% of the total number of employees).
626.48 thousand people applied to employment agencies (245.23 thousand young people aged between 16-30) in 2018.
