Fruitless job search in Armenia: unemployment surges
By Mushvig Mehdiyev
Unemployment in Armenia has become a pandemic problem, which threatens to tear at the country' social fabric since it is its youth which has been most affected.
The latest statistical data showed that unemployment rate rose to 21 percent among Armenia's 2.9 million-population.
Sociologist Aharon Adibekyan said that those most affected by this miserable situation have been Armenia's new graduates.
"Employers in our country need mostly an experienced workforce, thus students suffer from unemployment - 75 percent of the alumni is jobless," he said.
The most general puzzle of Armenia's unemployment trend divides into three main parts. First are women with higher education who are reluctant to work in the field of services that are mostly offered to them in the country. The second part is the youth; they opt for manager, economist, lawyer positions rather than being employed in low-level jobs. The third and final part is people aged above 40, who face age qualification challenges.
"The absence of a particular state program dealing with unemployment and lack of jobs stand behind this unemployment plague. Job seekers find themselves in a wild market today in Armenia," Adibekyan said.
The sociologist believes that the elimination of unemployment hardship could promote a decrease in the number of migration out of Armenia and address people's widespread unhappiness.
Employees in Armenia are stuck with two major problems: breach of labor contract and annual vacation problems.
Misunderstandings over salaries have also deteriorated the employment atmosphere in Armenia, believes Boris Kharatyan, Vice-President of Trade Unions Confederation of Armenia.
"Workers want to work less and get more money, while employers wish to pay less and see their workers be more productive," he said.
Kharatyan said a decent minimum average salary would act as a regulating factor in employment relations. "The minimum salary is nearly $105 in Armenia. It allows to say the workers in our country live on the poverty threshold," he noted.
Kharatyan added that according to national organizations' assessments, about 51-52 percent of employment relations in Armenia lack a legal basis as they are informal.
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