YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS. The number of unemployed people has decreased by 7% in 2017 compared to 2016. However, the main problem of the labor market remains the inconsistency of supply and demand: employers are looking for specialists with several skills.

Hasmik Tadevosyan – Head of Labor Market Analysis, Forecasting and Evaluation Department of the Armenian State Employment Agency, gave an interview to ARMENPRESS on the topic of unemployment and labor market.

-Mrs. Tadevosyan, what is the number of job seekers and unemployed people this year?

-As of October 1 there are 88609 job seekers of which 73621 have an unemployed status. Among the unemployed 54.8% have general secondary education. The number of people with high and post-graduate education comprises 12.5%, those with secondary education are 18.1%, and those with primary vocational education are 5.5%. They mainly look for jobs for their professions.

-What is the figure compared to the previous year?

-In 2016 the number of job seekers was 96106 and that of unemployed was 79195. Compared to the last year this year the figures decreased by 7.8 among job seekers, and by 7% among the unemployed.

-What is the main problem of the labor market today?

-The greatest problem is the discrepancy between the supply and demand. We have offers in all professions, but there is a problem of quality, highly-qualified specialists are required. Sometimes the employers are looking for specialists with several skills – foreign languages, computer skills which is difficult to find. There are jobs that have been vacant for a long time because the employer has not found relevant specialists for that posts. This still remains the main problem of the labor market.

Full interview available in Armenian

Interview by Anna Grigoryan