UNEMPLOYMENT LEVEL DROPS TO 6.7 PERCENT
ARMENPRESS
Jan 17 2007
YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS: Unemployment level in Armenia
dropped to 6.67 percent as of December 31, 2006 from 7.2 percent 12
months before.
Sona Harutunian, chief of the state-run Employment Service, said today
the figure reflects the number of people who applied to the agency’s
regional branches in search of jobs.
She said the real picture of the unemployment level is not clear
because there are no exact figure about covert employment, when
employers underreported routinely the number of their employees and
different methodologies used for relevant studies.
All registered jobless people receive an allowance of 12,000 Drams
($40) a month, which make 60 percent of the minimum wage.
They should visit regional employment offices on a regular basis
to see if there are jobs for them. An unemployed person who fails
to do so for six months becomes ineligible for the allowance and is
withdrawn from the list.
Sona Harutunian said rural population who own land plots and are
engaged in farming only are not regarded jobless. According to some
estimates, there are 500,000 such people in Armenia.