Working Life Barometer in the Baltic Countries 2002 (pdf) - mol.fi

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As the number of working age population has remained largely unchanged,
the trends in the absolute numbers of employed persons and employment rate
(population aged 15-64) have been similar. From as high a level as 78% in
1990 employment rate fell to 65% by 1996 and stayed at this level until 1998.
The Russian financial crisis cut the employment rate in Estonia to 61.6% in
1999 and to 60.7% in 2000. Increased employment in 2001 brought about also
a higher employment rate – 61.1%. It is quite probable that employment rate
will reach again 64–65% in the near future.
The employment rate of men has been notably higher than that of women (in
2001 respectively 65.2% and 57.3%). While in the first half of the 1990s the
difference between the employment rates of men and women decreased (in
1990 men's employment rate was 83% and women's, 72%), then since 1996
the difference has been almost stable.
The distribution of employment between economic sectors is increasingly
approaching the employment structure of developed countries. The proportion
of the primary sector (agriculture) is falling and the proportion of services is
increasing. The role of the primary sector in employment fell from 8.9% in
1998 to 6.9% in 2001 (in 1990, 20%) while that of the tertiary sector increased
from 55% to 60% (in 1990, 42.5%). The proportion of the secondary sector
has stayed around 33% (in 1990, 37.5%).
In 2001 the private sector accounted for 71% of employment. Its importance
has been constantly increasing; for example, in 1992 it employed 39% and in
1998 69% of all those employed. In manufacturing the private sector
accounted for as much as 98% in 2001 (in 1989, 9%). The role of the public
sector has been decreasing also in such areas as education and health care
though of course not at the same rate as in industry. However, in recent years
the growth in the importance of the private sector has slowed down
significantly. Obviously the general decline in employment has played a
certain role here.
Among all those employed in 2001 employees made up 91.7% while 8.3%
were entrepreneurs (including unpaid family members). The largest part of the
entrepreneurs were engaged in agriculture, which is where entrepreneurship