NEW JOBS OPENED IN ARMENIA, THOUGH UMEPLOYMENT HAS INCREASIED TOO
Tert.am
15:24 10.05.10
By May 1 unemployment level in Armenia has remained the same compared
to the data recorded in the beginning of 2010 - an average of 7.3%.
Among marzes (province) that have seen a higher unemployment level
than is the average, are Shirak (12.4%), Syunik (11.4%), Lori
(11.2%), Kotayk (9.8%), Tavush (9.0%) and Yerevan (7.8%), Head of
State Employment Service agency Sona Harutyunyan said at a press
conference today.
The number of unemployed people for the four months of 2010 has
increased by 10,000 to a total of 85,000 in comparison with the same
period of 2009.
According to Harutyuyna a study conducted at the end of 2009 revealed
that the average level of unemployment in Armenia was 27.5%. At the
same time she mentioned that the unemployment level is stable which
is accounted for by the stability in the Armenian economy.
Of all the people searching for a job only 14% has higher education.
Most of them are among 30-50-year-old age group. This year 3550
people have found a job. This 29.2% more than it was at the same
period in 2009.
According to Harutyunyan labor workers, workers in the services and
production sector are among the most demanded ones, while villages
located in the high mountains and near the borders are in great need
of pedagogues, doctors and pharmacists.
Tert.am
15:24 10.05.10
By May 1 unemployment level in Armenia has remained the same compared
to the data recorded in the beginning of 2010 - an average of 7.3%.
Among marzes (province) that have seen a higher unemployment level
than is the average, are Shirak (12.4%), Syunik (11.4%), Lori
(11.2%), Kotayk (9.8%), Tavush (9.0%) and Yerevan (7.8%), Head of
State Employment Service agency Sona Harutyunyan said at a press
conference today.
The number of unemployed people for the four months of 2010 has
increased by 10,000 to a total of 85,000 in comparison with the same
period of 2009.
According to Harutyuyna a study conducted at the end of 2009 revealed
that the average level of unemployment in Armenia was 27.5%. At the
same time she mentioned that the unemployment level is stable which
is accounted for by the stability in the Armenian economy.
Of all the people searching for a job only 14% has higher education.
Most of them are among 30-50-year-old age group. This year 3550
people have found a job. This 29.2% more than it was at the same
period in 2009.
According to Harutyunyan labor workers, workers in the services and
production sector are among the most demanded ones, while villages
located in the high mountains and near the borders are in great need
of pedagogues, doctors and pharmacists.
RFE/RL Report
UN Report Warns Of `New Wave' Of Emigration From Armenia
11.05.2010
Tatevik Lazarian
Armenia will face `a new wave of emigration' unless its government
does more to improve the socioeconomic situation and boost the rule of
law in the country, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
warned on Tuesday.
In an annual report, the UNDP called for wide-ranging government
measures, including democratic reform, that would `considerably reduce
the motivation of Armenia's population to leave the country.'
At least 700,000 Armenians, or about one-quarter of the country's
population, are believed to have emigrated to Russia and other
countries since the break-up of the Soviet Union and the resulting
turmoil in the region. The economically driven migration slowed
significantly in the 1990s as the Armenian economy began recovering
from its post-Soviet slump.
The problem is the main focus of the UNDP's latest `human development
report' on Armenia drawn up by local migration experts. They listed
and analyzed its `significant negative effects on Armenia's
development processes.'
Those include decreased birth and marriage rates, a brain drain and
other, `moral-psychological' consequences. People thinking about
finding employment abroad are `less likely to struggle for the
country's development or against injustice and violations of law' and
`more tolerant of negative phenomena, passive and too focused on just
consumption,' says the 170-page report.
The report at the same time acknowledges economic benefits of the
phenomenon, pointing to multimillion-dollar cash remittances sent home
by hundreds of thousands of Armenian migrant workers mainly based in
Russia, Europe and the United States. According to the Armenian
Central Bank, their non-commercial cash transfers totaled $1.12
billion last year. The sum was equivalent to almost 13 percent of the
country's Gross Domestic Product.
The UNDP report confirms that the outflow of the population has eased
significantly over the past decade parallel to Armenia's robust
economic growth. `The evidence is that permanent net emigration fell
to an average of about 10,000 persons per annum, which is only about
0.4 percent of the country's total population,' it says.
`However, despite the aforementioned process, the external migration
situation in Armenia still remains alarming,' it adds. `Moreover,
there are certain factors that give reason to assume that a new,
rather massive wave of emigration may emerge.'
The UNDP-contracted experts argued in particular that tens of
thousands of Armenian men working abroad might eventually reunite with
their families and cause Armenia to `lose another 200,000-300,000
citizens.' Another factor mentioned by them in this regard is the
ongoing concentration of agricultural land plots in the hands of
wealthy individuals.
`Depending on how and at what pace [the land consolidation] happens,
small land owners will be driven out of agricultural production, and
some of them will most probably opt for labor emigration or permanent
emigration due to the surplus of labor force in Armenia,' says the
report.
`Migration remains a risk factor for Armenia's national security,'
said Vartan Gevorgian, a sociologist who led a team of Armenian
experts working on the report. `I am talking about irregular
migration.'
Accordingly, the report stresses the need for `active intervention' by
the state aimed at `limiting the volume of permanent emigration.' It
says that should be done through improving not only economic
conditions but `governance practices' in the country. More
specifically, that should mean `the adoption and restoration of
democratic values in governance practice and the elimination of double
standards,' according to the report.
`Most state officials are inclined to blame [the emigration] on
socioeconomic causes such as unemployment,' Gevorgian told
journalists. `But at the end of the day, people become poor not just
because of a loss of income but also because of being unable to defend
their rights ... because of weak property guarantees.'
The UNDP report likewise says that Armenians have left the country not
only because of poverty but also injustice, inequality before the law
and a resulting atmosphere of popular cynicism.
Speaking during a public presentation of the report, Armenia's Deputy
Prime Minister Armen Gevorgian praised the UNDP office in Yerevan and
the authors of the extensive analysis. He said its findings and
proposals will be `useful' for government officials dealing with
migration.
Gevorgian also said that the Armenian government is committed to
finding `effective and radical solutions' to the problem and is
currently working on a strategy of `state regulation of migration.' He
did not elaborate.
HETQ
11.05.2010
Tatevik Lazarian
Armenia will face `a new wave of emigration' unless its government
does more to improve the socioeconomic situation and boost the rule of
law in the country, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
warned on Tuesday.
In an annual report, the UNDP called for wide-ranging government
measures, including democratic reform, that would `considerably reduce
the motivation of Armenia's population to leave the country.'
At least 700,000 Armenians, or about one-quarter of the country's
population, are believed to have emigrated to Russia and other
countries since the break-up of the Soviet Union and the resulting
turmoil in the region. The economically driven migration slowed
significantly in the 1990s as the Armenian economy began recovering
from its post-Soviet slump.
The problem is the main focus of the UNDP's latest `human development
report' on Armenia drawn up by local migration experts. They listed
and analyzed its `significant negative effects on Armenia's
development processes.'
Those include decreased birth and marriage rates, a brain drain and
other, `moral-psychological' consequences. People thinking about
finding employment abroad are `less likely to struggle for the
country's development or against injustice and violations of law' and
`more tolerant of negative phenomena, passive and too focused on just
consumption,' says the 170-page report.
The report at the same time acknowledges economic benefits of the
phenomenon, pointing to multimillion-dollar cash remittances sent home
by hundreds of thousands of Armenian migrant workers mainly based in
Russia, Europe and the United States. According to the Armenian
Central Bank, their non-commercial cash transfers totaled $1.12
billion last year. The sum was equivalent to almost 13 percent of the
country's Gross Domestic Product.
The UNDP report confirms that the outflow of the population has eased
significantly over the past decade parallel to Armenia's robust
economic growth. `The evidence is that permanent net emigration fell
to an average of about 10,000 persons per annum, which is only about
0.4 percent of the country's total population,' it says.
`However, despite the aforementioned process, the external migration
situation in Armenia still remains alarming,' it adds. `Moreover,
there are certain factors that give reason to assume that a new,
rather massive wave of emigration may emerge.'
The UNDP-contracted experts argued in particular that tens of
thousands of Armenian men working abroad might eventually reunite with
their families and cause Armenia to `lose another 200,000-300,000
citizens.' Another factor mentioned by them in this regard is the
ongoing concentration of agricultural land plots in the hands of
wealthy individuals.
`Depending on how and at what pace [the land consolidation] happens,
small land owners will be driven out of agricultural production, and
some of them will most probably opt for labor emigration or permanent
emigration due to the surplus of labor force in Armenia,' says the
report.
`Migration remains a risk factor for Armenia's national security,'
said Vartan Gevorgian, a sociologist who led a team of Armenian
experts working on the report. `I am talking about irregular
migration.'
Accordingly, the report stresses the need for `active intervention' by
the state aimed at `limiting the volume of permanent emigration.' It
says that should be done through improving not only economic
conditions but `governance practices' in the country. More
specifically, that should mean `the adoption and restoration of
democratic values in governance practice and the elimination of double
standards,' according to the report.
`Most state officials are inclined to blame [the emigration] on
socioeconomic causes such as unemployment,' Gevorgian told
journalists. `But at the end of the day, people become poor not just
because of a loss of income but also because of being unable to defend
their rights ... because of weak property guarantees.'
The UNDP report likewise says that Armenians have left the country not
only because of poverty but also injustice, inequality before the law
and a resulting atmosphere of popular cynicism.
Speaking during a public presentation of the report, Armenia's Deputy
Prime Minister Armen Gevorgian praised the UNDP office in Yerevan and
the authors of the extensive analysis. He said its findings and
proposals will be `useful' for government officials dealing with
migration.
Gevorgian also said that the Armenian government is committed to
finding `effective and radical solutions' to the problem and is
currently working on a strategy of `state regulation of migration.' He
did not elaborate.
HETQ
BANKS ARE VICTIMIZING ARMENIA'S VILLAGERS; DOES ANYONE
CARE?
Edik Baghdasaryan
2010/05/03 | 15:22
For the past few issues, we have been presenting our readers stories
of individuals who have taken out bank loans, mainly for agricultural
purposes, and the financial mess they have wound up in. We have
stressed that the loan system is such that rural residents are facing
a credit crisis and that many are forced to sell off their worldly
possessions to pay back these loans, granted as high interest rates
and in dollars.
Villagers are losing their homes, their land and, consequently, their
faith in the government. This loss of faith is the most damaging and
has forced many to seek their fortunes outside of Armenia.
Today, the Armenian courts are full of cases in which banks have taken
individuals to court seeking the seizure of property for non-payment
of loans. The destinies of real people are at stake here.
After travelling to various rural areas in Armenia, it has become
woefully evident that local residents who have taken out bank loans
now find themselves in a veritable financial spider's web which is
difficult to get out of. The only practical recourse is to sell off
what they can and then leave the country.
The banks and other lending institutions operate according to a
ruthless usury system in which the hapless villager is there to
be exploited. Government officials from the president on down, the
parliament and political parties, all seem to have more urgent issues
to attend to - Armenian-Turkish relations, Obama, Medvedev, Sarkozy,
Erdogan, et al. What chance does the average Armenian village have
when stacked up against such notables?
The country is constructing regional centers in all fields; financial,
health, education. We are busy concocting a plethora of pan-national,
intra-national and universal programs with such grandiose names as
"Come Home", etc. No one on high seems willing or so inclined to come
off their lofty perch and actually trod the length and breadth of
the country, through the rural communities of Armenia, the backbone
of the nation.
We've been trying to break down certain barriers for the past few
months. The RoA Central Banks argues that the loan system is legally
regulated and that it cannot do anything. But I say that the Bank also
writes and applies the law. If the legislature needs your input you
are at the ready to push through changes in the space of a few hours.
We have met with dozens of Armenian MP's, presented the reality on
the ground to them. Their reaction is to assume a serious tone and
grave face and reply - Yes, it's a very important issue that needs
to be addressed. And they raise the issue.
Various government officials are heard to say - How has it happened
that those credit agencies and the banks have escaped being monitored?
It's not possible. It's the responsibility of the Central Bank.
We have presented the facts. But what's the use? It's impossible to
crack the wall of indifference, of uncaring.
You would think, however, there would be just one person in this
country who could explain why villagers are hit with 30% interest
rates when the banks get the money at 24%. Is there anyone out there
able to justify why the banks should be allowed to reap super profits
by swindling Armenia's rural residents?
All these personal accounts of credit victims that Hetq has published
only go to show how the government has been "assisting" Armenia's
villagers and "developing" the country's agricultural sector. The
only result that we can see is that more people are being deprived of
their land and are forced to leave Armenia, many for good. Then again,
was this the plan all along?
Edik Baghdasaryan
2010/05/03 | 15:22
For the past few issues, we have been presenting our readers stories
of individuals who have taken out bank loans, mainly for agricultural
purposes, and the financial mess they have wound up in. We have
stressed that the loan system is such that rural residents are facing
a credit crisis and that many are forced to sell off their worldly
possessions to pay back these loans, granted as high interest rates
and in dollars.
Villagers are losing their homes, their land and, consequently, their
faith in the government. This loss of faith is the most damaging and
has forced many to seek their fortunes outside of Armenia.
Today, the Armenian courts are full of cases in which banks have taken
individuals to court seeking the seizure of property for non-payment
of loans. The destinies of real people are at stake here.
After travelling to various rural areas in Armenia, it has become
woefully evident that local residents who have taken out bank loans
now find themselves in a veritable financial spider's web which is
difficult to get out of. The only practical recourse is to sell off
what they can and then leave the country.
The banks and other lending institutions operate according to a
ruthless usury system in which the hapless villager is there to
be exploited. Government officials from the president on down, the
parliament and political parties, all seem to have more urgent issues
to attend to - Armenian-Turkish relations, Obama, Medvedev, Sarkozy,
Erdogan, et al. What chance does the average Armenian village have
when stacked up against such notables?
The country is constructing regional centers in all fields; financial,
health, education. We are busy concocting a plethora of pan-national,
intra-national and universal programs with such grandiose names as
"Come Home", etc. No one on high seems willing or so inclined to come
off their lofty perch and actually trod the length and breadth of
the country, through the rural communities of Armenia, the backbone
of the nation.
We've been trying to break down certain barriers for the past few
months. The RoA Central Banks argues that the loan system is legally
regulated and that it cannot do anything. But I say that the Bank also
writes and applies the law. If the legislature needs your input you
are at the ready to push through changes in the space of a few hours.
We have met with dozens of Armenian MP's, presented the reality on
the ground to them. Their reaction is to assume a serious tone and
grave face and reply - Yes, it's a very important issue that needs
to be addressed. And they raise the issue.
Various government officials are heard to say - How has it happened
that those credit agencies and the banks have escaped being monitored?
It's not possible. It's the responsibility of the Central Bank.
We have presented the facts. But what's the use? It's impossible to
crack the wall of indifference, of uncaring.
You would think, however, there would be just one person in this
country who could explain why villagers are hit with 30% interest
rates when the banks get the money at 24%. Is there anyone out there
able to justify why the banks should be allowed to reap super profits
by swindling Armenia's rural residents?
All these personal accounts of credit victims that Hetq has published
only go to show how the government has been "assisting" Armenia's
villagers and "developing" the country's agricultural sector. The
only result that we can see is that more people are being deprived of
their land and are forced to leave Armenia, many for good. Then again,
was this the plan all along?
Tert.am
12:09 10.05.10
An Azerbaijani delegation headed by Azerbaijan's Agriculture Minister
Ismad Abasov has arrived in Yerevan this morning to participate in the
UN Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) 27th regional conference
of Europe and Central Asia, Armenia's Ministry of Agriculture informed
Tert.am.
The conference will be presided by FAO head Jacques Diouf.
It aims at discussing and making proposals on essential food and
agriculture issues affecting the region of Europe and Central Asia.
Other international delegations are also expected to arrive in
Armenia to participate in the conference, also menia to participate in
the conference
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