TOP employer 2022 rankings

The top-of-mind category of the best employers in Latvia, which comprises the TOP 50 list, has undergone significant changes this year, with only one company managing to retain its position from the previous year as the winner. The list includes seven new entrants and seven returning companies. More than one-third of the companies featured in the list have improved their rankings. The top-of-mind category drew mentions for 1 036 companies, indicating intense competition. Only about 5% of these companies made it to the TOP 50 best employers in Latvia, indicating greater competition than in the past.

AS “Swedbank”, Latvia’s largest bank, has been recognized as the best workplace in Latvia for the fifth consecutive year in the TOP employer – Top-of-mind category. It was spontaneously mentioned by 6.2% of all survey respondents as the most desirable employer. SIA “Lidl Latvia”, a food retail company, returned to the second position after a two-year break, with 3.4% of the survey respondents mentioning it. The third position was the most closely contested, with several companies vying for it, and the vote difference with the 4th to 6th place winners was minimal. Finally, Latvia’s national airline, AS “Air Baltic Corporation”, was named the third best employer and received 2.9% of the mentions, ranking in the top three for the first time in history.

Riga Stradiņš University has been named as the TOP Employer – Public Sector and has received the highest rating among the public sector organizations featured in the TOP 50 best employers list. It currently holds the 30th position in the overall ranking.

More than a third of last year’s TOP 50 best employers have succeeded in improving their rankings from the previous year. Nonetheless, the most rapid rise in the top, with an increase of 40 places, belongs to a newcomer on the list – a pharmacy chain SIA “Latvijas aptieka” – which is now recognized as the TOP employer – Growth of the Year, securing the 11th position on the TOP 50 list.

Out of all the respondents who participated in the survey, over 9 300 or 59% expressed their opinions on employers in the trade sector. The survey included more than 180 proposed companies, making it the most fiercely contested category among all business sectors. Due to this intense competition, two companies tied for the 4th place with an equal number of votes. Moreover, 45% of the respondents cast their votes for the top ten companies. There are three employers who have maintained their positions in the top.

For the second consecutive year, SIA “Lidl Latvia”, a food retail company, has been named the top employer in the trade sector in Latvia, with 10.6% of survey participants casting their votes in its favor. SIA “Circle K Latvia”, a fuel retail company, held onto the second position, receiving 7.4% of the votes. SIA “Rimi Latvia”, another food retail company, maintained its third-place position with 6.1% of survey respondents voting for it in this category.

The IT and telecommunications sector emerged as the most popular business sector for the second consecutive year, with 9 335 or 59% of all survey respondents participating in voting for employers in this category. The survey included more than 30 companies from this sector, and the top ten best employers received 77% of the votes in this category. Only one employer has managed to maintain its position in the top.

For the eleventh year in a row, SIA “Latvijas Mobilais Telefons”, a telecommunications company, has been recognized as the best workplace in the IT and telecommunications sector with a convincing vote. It received 18.1% of the votes from survey participants in this sector. “Accenture Latvijas filiāle”, an IT company, returned to the second position after a one-year gap, securing 11.3% of the votes. SIA “Tet”, a technology and entertainment services company, entered the top three after four years, receiving 9% of respondents’ votes.

Over 9 270 individuals, or 58% of all survey participants, voted for employers in the financial sector, ranking it as the third most popular category among business sectors. The survey included more than 30 proposed companies from the financial sector. Notably, 87% of the respondents in this category cast their votes for the top ten companies, which is one of the highest rates among all business sectors. An outstanding feature of this category is that the leading five employers in the financial sector have managed to hold onto their top positions.

For the eleventh year in a row, AS “Swedbank”, Latvia’s largest bank, has been recognized as the best workplace in the financial sector in 2022. It received the largest percentage of votes for the first place among all business sectors, with 33.7% of the respondents casting their votes in its favor. AS “SEB banka” retained the second position, receiving 13.8% of the votes. AAS “Balta” won the third place for the second time, securing 8.7% of the respondents’ votes.

Over 8 780 individuals, or 55% of all survey participants, voted for the best employers in the manufacturing sector. The survey included 170 proposed companies, indicating the second most significant competition among all business sectors. The top ten best employers in the manufacturing sector received 44% of the votes in their category. Notably, three companies have managed to retain their positions in the top.

AS “Madara Cosmetics” has been named the best workplace in Latvia’s manufacturing sector for the second consecutive year, receiving 7.8% of the votes from survey participants. AS “Grindeks”, a pharmaceutical company, retained the second position for the fifth year in a row, receiving 5.7% of the votes. AS “Latvenergo”, an electricity production company, maintained its third position and received 4.8% of the votes from survey respondents in this category.

The transport and logistics sector received votes from over 8 500 individuals or 54% of all survey participants this year. The survey included over 80 proposed companies from this sector. The top ten best employers in this sector received 65% of the votes from respondents in this category. Notably, only one company has managed to retain its top position.

AS “Air Baltic Corporation”, Latvia’s national airline, has once again been recognized as the best workplace in Latvia’s transport and logistics sector for the eleventh consecutive year. It secured 25% of the votes from survey participants. SIA “Omniva”, a parcel delivery company, has made it to the top three once again and won the second place for the first time, receiving slightly more than 7% of the votes. In third place, with only a few votes less than the runner-up, and securing a place in the top three for the third time, was the parcel delivery company SIA “DPD Latvija”, receiving 7% of the respondents’ votes this year.

This year, 8 500 or 53% of all survey respondents participated in voting for employers in the global business services sector. The survey included over 50 proposed companies from this sector. 74% of the respondents in this category voted for the top ten employers. Similar to the financial sector, the leading five employers in this category have retained their positions.

For the third consecutive year, SIA “Circle K Business Centre” has been named the best workplace in Latvia’s global business services sector, securing 20.4% of the votes from survey participants in this category. “Swedbank AB (publ) Latvijas filiāle” took the second position with 13.5% of the votes from survey participants. The third place was secured by “Accenture Latvijas filiāle”, which received 10.4% of the respondents’ votes.

The HoReCa industry, which encompasses hotels, restaurants, and public catering, is a new addition to the TOP employer list. It can also be seen as the successor to the public catering category from previous years, with the added evaluation of companies operating in the accommodation sector.

7 850 or 49% of all survey respondents took part in voting for the best employers in the HoReCa sector. In this category, respondents voted for 11 proposed companies selected according to the survey methodology. More than 90% of respondents in this category voted for the top ten. Two employers have maintained their positions in the top five.

For the first time, SIA “HOTEL JŪRMALA SPA” has been recognized as the best workplace in Latvia’s HoReCa sector. It secured a convincing lead and received 29.8% of the votes from survey participants, which is the second-largest percentage of respondents voting for first place across all business sectors. SIA “LIDO”, the previous leader of the public catering category, secured the second position with 17.6% of the votes from survey participants. SIA “Vēl vairāk saules” retained its third position, receiving 7.8% of the respondents’ votes.

Over 8 100 or 51% of all survey participants voted for the employers of the Kurzeme region. The survey included 60 proposed Kurzeme companies, and over half of the respondents voted for the top ten companies. Notably, four companies have retained their positions in the top five in this category.

SIA LSEZ “LAUMA FABRICS”, a textile production company, has been named the best workplace in Latvia’s Kurzeme region for the second year in a row. It secured 7.4% of the votes from respondents in this category. The oil and oil product transshipment company SIA “Ventspils nafta termināls” retained its position, ranking second with 6.5% of the votes from Kurzeme category respondents. The third position was won by the architecture and design company AS “UPB”, which had a close battle with the 4th-6th place winners, receiving 5.8% of the votes from survey participants.

Over 8 100 or 51% of the survey participants voted for employers of the Zemgale region. The survey included 70 proposed Zemgale companies, which is the largest number of nominated employers in the regions. Notably, 68% of respondents in this category voted for the top ten, the highest rate among all regions. Additionally, three companies have retained their positions in the category’s top ranking.

AS “Dobeles dzirnavnieks”, a food production company, has once again been recognized as the best workplace in Latvia’s Zemgale region for the second consecutive year and seventh time in the history of the list, securing 19.4% of the votes. AS “Virši-A”, a domestic fuel retail company, has retained its second-place ranking by receiving 12.1% of the respondents’ votes in the Zemgale category. Additionally, the beer producer SIA “Bauskas alus” has again secured the third place, receiving 8.4% of the respondents’ votes.

Around 8 450 or 53% of the survey respondents voted for employers in the Vidzeme region, making it one of the most popular regional categories, similar to previous years. In total, survey participants voted for more than 60 proposed companies in the Vidzeme region. Approximately 55% of respondents in this category cast their votes for the top ten companies. Three companies have maintained their positions in the top.

For the ninth consecutive year, AS “Cēsu alus”, a beer production company, has been recognized as the best workplace in the Vidzeme region for 2022, receiving 14.7% of the votes from survey participants in this category. SIA “Fazer Latvija”, a bread production company, maintained its position and came in second place, voted for by 12.1% of respondents. The production company AS “Valmieras stikla šķiedra” has retained its position in the top three employers of Vidzeme for the ninth consecutive year, securing third place with 5.9% of the votes from respondents.

8 070 or more than half of all survey participants took part in voting for the employers of the Latgale region. Respondents in this category voted for approximately 40 proposed Latgale companies. The share of votes of companies in the top ten is more than half of all participants of the Latgale category survey. Three companies have managed to maintain their positions.

For the ninth year in a row, the bread production company AS “Latvijas maiznieks” was recognized as the best workplace in Latvia in 2022 in the Latgale region, securing 28.5% of the votes from the respondents in this category, which is the highest percentage of votes for the first place among all regions. The meat processing company SIA “Rēzeknes gaļas kombināts” made a comeback after a three-year break and secured the second position with 6.9% of the votes. The third place was secured by the milk processing production company AS “Preiļu siers”, which received 6.3% of the votes from the respondents and has been in the top five employers of Latgale for nine years.