OREANDA-NEWS. On 19 February 2008 was announced, that according to the State Statistics Committee the official unemployment rate rose slightly to 2.4% in January 2008 (2.3% in December 2007). A total of 662,800 unemployed people were registered with the State Employment Service as of end of January 2008. A total of 495,000 unemployed people received benefits, averaging UAH 360 (USD 71) per person. Comparing to January 2007 the unemployment rate decreased by 40 basis points.

The registered unemployment in Ukraine was slightly growing from 2.0% in October to 2.4% in January 2008, however, it is still less than unemployment in 1H2007. The increase in unemployment was accompanied by the rise in inflation (from 2.1% to 2.9% in January 2008 comparing to December 2007). We expect that unemployment might slightly increase yet stay within 2.1 - 2.5% range through 2008, which is related to the more restrictive monetary policy directed to fight with inflation.