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OCR F585: Latvian unemployment
31st March 2010
An Easter hat tip to Graham Ritchie from Banff and Buchan College for spotting this highly relevant BBC news article on mass unemployment in Latvia. This Baltic State experienced a class economic bubble in the run up to and immediately after joining the European Union. But the bubble has burst in spectacular fashion and the economy has suffered a deep and painful depression. “More than one in five adults in Latvia is unemployed. Among young people the rate is more than two in five. Many Latvians have responded by going abroad to find work. The number of Latvians arriving in the UK to work is estimated to have doubled last year.”
This article is relevant to Extract 3 of the June 2010 OCR F585 pre-release stimulus material. The extract includes this section.
“Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia had all enjoyed a decade of high growth prior to the recession, in part promoted by significant levels of foreign direct investment. However, the recession experienced by these economies was deep and prolonged.”
The economy now has unemployment of 18% and rising together with a worsening problem of consumer price deflation. It has a pegged currency against the Euro - so the strengthening Euro poses further competitiveness problems for her economy in non-Euro countries.
Our new OCR F585 June 2010 pre-release toolkit is now available for immediate dispatch
Geoff Riley
Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for over thirty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD conferences in the UK and overseas.