Armenia's labor resources see drastic losses

/By AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

The labor resources of Armenia have seen a dramatic fall over the last year as its manpower has shrunk at a fast pace.

The official statistics data showed that the available labor force of Armenia lost over 190,700 people in 2014.

The workforce - men and women capable of participating in the labor market of the country - stood at 2.236 million people earlier in 2014. Every able-bodied citizen aged between 15 and 75 have been included in the manpower list.

But in late 2014, it has been revealed that that number had been reduced to 2.135 million. Nearly 200,000 citizens were listed off from the available manpower base.

A disastrous emigration wave out of Armenia has decimated the county's workforce, leaving the country in a very difficult position. The latest official statistics data reported that 330,000 citizens left Armenia over the past 7 years. However, the real number may reach around 380,000, according to unofficial data. In addition, Armenian police's data showed that 2,180 residents renounced their citizenship to apply for asylum in other countries

The official data claimed that the overall number of employed Armenians decreased to 1.111 million in late 2014 from 1.175 million registered in early 2014.

Numbers show that the number of employed people has fallen by 64.100 citizens over a year.

Zhoghovurd newspaper in Yerevan reported that the reason standing behind such a drastic decrease in the number of employed is linked to mass job cuts in companies.

"The job cuts are mostly linked to the loan and economic policy of the authorities. Apparently official statistics have already proven the considerable drop in number of employed citizens," the newspaper noted.

Unemployment in Armenia has become a pandemic problem, which threatens to tear at the country' social fabric since it is affecting the poorest and most vulnerable segment of Armenia.

The latest statistical data showed that the unemployment rate rose to 21 percent among Armenia's 2.9 million-population.

According to international organizations' assessments, about 51-52 percent of employment relations in Armenia lack a legal basis as they are informal. This has led to much social injustice.