The unemployment rate calculated for persons aged 15 and 74 who did not work, but are available to work and sought a job last month, fell in the second quarter of 2009 by 0.6 percentage points from the previous quarter to 6.3%, announced Monday INS.

Data published by the National Statistics Institute (INS) shows that the unemployment rate, calculated according to the criteria the International Labor Office (ILO), was in the range from April to June by 0.7 percentage points higher compared to same quarter of 2008.

By gender, the difference between the two ILO unemployment rate was 1.9 percentage points (7.1% for men and 5.2% for women), while the average residential difference was 3.2 points percentage (7.7% for urban areas, versus 4.5% for rural).

ILO unemployment rate was the highest level - by 19.2% - among young people aged between 15 and 24 years.

The active population has exceeded 10 million people in the second quarter

Active population of Romania was in the second quarter of this year, to 10.008 million people, up from 9.7 million persons in the previous quarter, of which 627,000 were registered as unemployed by the Romanian, according to ILO criteria.

Activity rate of population aged 15 and 64 years rose to 63.4% from 61.8% in first quarter.

Economic dependency ratio (the number of inactive and unemployed incumbent in 1000 of persons employed) went down to 1292 ‰, 1379 ‰ in the period from January to March. It continues to be higher for women (1603 ‰) and for people in urban areas (1339 ‰).

Employment rate of working age population (15-64 years) in Romania was 59.2% in the second quarter of 2009, at a distance of 10.8 percentage points to 70% target set for 2010 by Lisbon Strategy.

The occupation had a lower level than in the corresponding quarter of 2008, by 59.7% but was 1.8 percentage points over the previous quarter.

As in previous quarters, this indicator had higher values for men, 65.6% against 52.9% for women and for people in rural areas, by 62.2% to 57.1% in urban areas. Employment rate of young people between 15 and 24 years was 24.5%.

In the second quarter, ILO unemployment rate, at 6.3% was almost 0.5 percentage points higher than registered unemployment rate of NAE for the second quarter of this year (5.7% in April, 5.8 % to 6% in May and June 2009), the two rates of unemployment (ILO, respectively recorded NAE) is not comparable because the reference periods and different coverage.

"Data source is a statistical survey on employment in households (AMIGO), which is a quarterly, in accordance with European Parliament and Council Regulation no. 577/1998 on the organization of selective surveys on employment in the European Community ", the communiqué also says INS.