Danish unemployment hits 14 year-low

Bloomberg

Denmark’s unemployment rate fell to the lowest level in almost 14 years in a signal the Nordic nation’s labor market remains resilient to surging inflation and the fallout from the war in Ukraine.
The gross unemployment rate dropped to 2.4% in April, the lowest since June 2008, according to Statistics Denmark. The latest drop means only 70,000 people remain jobless, less than half of the about 150,000 unemployed shortly after the pandemic lockdown was introduced in the spring of 2020.
The data bucks the recent signs of cooldown — including consumer confidence hitting a record-low — after Denmark fared better through the pandemic than most of its wealthy peers. The AAA-rated economy may have reached peak employment, according to Mette Hordum Larsen, an economist at the Danish Trade Union Confederation.
“The consequences of the war in Ukraine and the high inflation means that we will see the progress slowing down,” Larsen said in an emailed statement. “And unfortunately we will see that the decline in unemployment is in its final stretch for now.”
According to a separate report, Denmark’s gross domestic product contracted 0.1% in the first quarter. The drop was mainly to do a decline in services aimed at households and public spending.