Unemployment has doubled
According to the State Committee of Statistics, at the present time 1.6 million able-bodied men and women are seeking work.
The figures have been obtained using the methods applied by the International Labour Organization, based on surveying members of the public. This replaces the old system of taking the number of people registered at employment offices (around 900 thousand people).
According to the State Committees results, the real level of unemployment in Ukraine is equal to analogous figures in the EU – 7.3% In Poland, where huge numbers of Ukrainian nationals go to find work, unemployment stands at 13%.
Experts studying the labour market, however, question the new figures. They believe that the real unemployment rate is considerably higher.
Ella Libanova, Director of the Institute of Demography and Social Research points out that the statisticians have not included around 3 million people who work on farms, virtually the entire rural population. She adds that in EU countries where agriculture is more developed there simply are no such people, whereas in Ukraine they make up one sixth of the able-bodied population. She adds that the statistics have failed to take into account people travelling abroad for work.
She believes that the relatively low level of unemployment is also explained by higher demands in other European countries as regards conditions and payment. “The main problem in Ukraine is not the level of unemployment, but the low quality of employment”, she asserts.
Based on information published at www.pravda.com.ua