Moldovan youth more seriously affected by economic crisis

More and more young persons in Moldova remain out of work. The young people from rural areas who do not have higher education are the most affected and are the most likely to migrate, shows the study “Youth Unemployment and Poverty in Moldova: present situation and possible answers”, carried out by the UNDP Moldova. The results of the study were made public at a news conference on August 12, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the research, the unemployment rate among the youth in the first half of this year was 16%, as against 14% in 2007. This rate in rural areas was 17%, while in urban areas - 15%. It is higher among persons aged between 15 and 24, who have secondary education. The study suggests formulating a national policy on vocational training for the youth. “The young people lack experience and face the distrust of the potential employers. On the home labor market, they have to compete with more experienced migrants who return home, where the jobless rate is already high,” said Lovita Ramguttee, manager of the UNDP Moldova’s poverty reduction program. Another problem is that many young persons do not register as unemployed with the National Employment Agency. “At least 50% of the jobless young people are not registered at the Agency. Most of them do not know the advantages of being registered, are discouraged by the low salaries that they could get or hope they could emigrate,” Lovita Ramguette said. While conducting the study, representatives of the UNDP witnessed cases of mass layoffs, salary reductions, pay arrears and shortened working programs. In order to meet the needs of the vulnerable young people, the PNUD provided assistance to more than 1,000 unemployed persons. About 700 out of them found a job. The assistance was offered as part of the UNDP Better Opportunities for Women and Youth Project implemented with support from the United States Agency for International Development. According to the statistics of the National Employment Agency, 17,800 persons out of work were recorded in Moldova in December last year. At the end of June 2009, this figure rose to 35,000.