Unemployment rate stood at 14.7% in 1Q25
The unemployment rate rose by 0.6ppts y/y to 14.7% in 1Q25, driven by a 3.0% y/y drop in self-employed individuals and a 0.2% y/y expansion in the labor force. During this period, labor force totaled 1,634 thousand people. Of these, 1,394 thousand were employed (-0.5% y/y), while 239.4 thousand were unemployed (+4.7% y/y).
In 1Q25, the number of hired employees grew by 0.6% y/y, representing 68.7% of total employment, while self-employed individuals fell by 3.0% y/y. Importantly, labor force participation rate edged down 0.2ppts y/y to 54.8% in 1Q25.
We forecast unemployment rate at 13.5% in 2025.
Goods exports surged by 41.1% y/y in Apr-25
In Apr-25, goods exports surged by 41.1% y/y to US$ 616.8mn, after a 7.5% y/y growth in previous month. In contrast, goods imports declined by 3.6% y/y to US$ 1.4bn, after growing by 17.3% y/y in previous month. Consequently, the trade deficit narrowed by 22.9% y/y to US$ 782.5n in Apr-25.
The top 5 exported commodities were cars (+90.7% y/y), precious metals (+588.6% y/y), wine (-48.6% y/y), spirits (-4.7% y/y) and mineral waters (+4.6% y/y) in Apr-25. A 12.5% of exports were directed to the EU (+154.4% y/y), 71.7% to the CIS (+39.4% y/y) and 15.8% to other countries (+8.7% y/y).
The top 5 imports were cars (-12.7% y/y), petroleum (-28.5% y/y), pharmaceuticals (-13.2% y/y), turbo-jets/propellers (+$30.4mn y/y) and gases (+48.0% y/y) in Apr-25.
Overall, in 4M25, the trade deficit increased by 16.4% y/y to US$ 3.7bn, as exports grew by 14.2% to US$ 2.0bn and imports were up by 15.7% y/y, reaching US$ 5.7bn.
Producer price index increased by 5.1% y/y in Apr-25
Annual PPI for industrial goods increased by 5.1% in Apr-25, after a 5.5% y/y rise in previous month. The annual growth was mainly driven by an increase in prices in the manufacturing (+3.8% y/y), followed by electricity supply (+10.1% y/y) and mining (+15.0% y/y) sectors.
