Only three in ten young people in the Republic of Moldova work and only half of them work according to their qualifications, shows a study conducted by the National Youth Council of Moldova.

In a news conference at IPN, the Council’s chairman Valeriu Dragalin said the study highlights two tendencies on the labor market: the fact that the number of young people who start a business decreases and that the number of young people who are not involved in any activity increases. The number of the latter exceeds 29.4%. The similar figure in the EU stands at 15%.

Mariana Etsko, expert of the Center for Organizational Training and Consultancy, said the young people  represent about 30% of the country’s population. Seven in ten young people are inactive from professional viewpoint. Of the seven who do not work, only three are involved in studies or professional formation, while another two are decided to look for a job abroad.

The study shows 22.9% of the young people abandoned the first job because they were not satisfied with the conditions. 17.3% left the first job for maternity reasons, while 16% moved to a better paid job. 14.6% went to work abroad.

The number of people aged between 25 and 34 who are looking for a job is higher than of the unemployed people aged between 15 and 24. The young people who have lower qualifications, those without qualifications and the young people with disabilities are the most vulnerable ones.

Ion Stângaci, deputy head of the Employment Policy Implementation Division of the National Employment Agency, said about 6,600 people aged between 16 and 29 went to the Agency in 2017 and 52% of these were helped to find a job. Approximately 65% of these are from rural areas and most of them do not have qualifications.