According to the economist, the situation in the Latvian labor market remains stable. In the second quarter of this year, the unemployment rate did not change significantly and stood at 7.0% - 0.1 percentage points lower than the previous quarter, although slightly higher than a year ago. Despite the uncertainty in the external economic environment, the demand for labor in Latvia has generally remained sufficient for employment growth. Thanks to the exit or return to the labor market of previously economically inactive residents, the employment rate has slightly increased over the year. However, as Opmané notes, some recent events raise questions about the future development of the labor market. In particular, there have been recent reports of collective layoffs at certain enterprises, mainly in Latgale. "Although at first glance this may be perceived as a sign of economic weakness, the reasons for such corporate decisions vary, including the reorganization of activities and increased efficiency," the expert notes. In her opinion, collective layoffs will only affect a small part of the employed in the region: "From a human and social point of view, this is painful, however, those who were previously employed have more opportunities to find other jobs and relatively quickly overcome the period of unemployment, despite the fact that the unemployment rate in Latgale has been significantly higher than in other regions of Latvia for a long time." "The dynamics of the number of registered unemployed in Latgale also do not currently indicate any problems. The number of unemployed continues to decrease: in July, there were almost a thousand fewer than at the beginning of the year, and compared to July of last year - more than 600 fewer," Opmané points out. "Overall in the country, the demand for workers also remains high, and no significant changes in the supply of labor are observed. Therefore, unemployment this year is likely to continue to decrease moderately, and the labor market in Latvia will remain tight," concludes the economist of the Bank of Latvia.