The self-employment program will cover about 35,000 people in 2018.

The self-employment program will cover about 35,000 people in 2018, Azerbaijani Minister of Labor and Social Protection Salim Muslimov wrote in his article published in "Azerbaijan" newspaper.

Self employment program is becoming an effective tool to handle unemployment, as over 900 people already fully benefited the recently launched program in Azerbaijan.

A center for preventing illegal employment will be established in Azerbaijan.

Employment in the agriculture sector hit 1.7 million as of early 2017, which comprises 37 percent of the economically active population of Azerbaijan.

The average monthly pension in Azerbaijan increased by 6.4 percent.

To date, the self-employment program in Azerbaijan covered about 1,400 people.

Protecting the labor rights of citizens, meeting the financial and social demands of workers and ensuring a decent standard of living remains the priority of socio-economic policy of the country.

Roughly 31,300 people got new jobs in January-May 2017, said Salim Muslimov, the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s population continues to grow fast, as the country is among the leaders in Europe on an annual growth rate.