YEREVAN. – “If there is an increase in unemployment in the country, what is the reason for the substantial reduction in the number of unemployed that receive unemployment benefits?” 

Opposition Armenian National Congress MP Nikol Pashinyan posed the aforementioned question to Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Artem Asatryan during Tuesday’s parliamentary discussions devoted to the Law on Employment.      

The minister confirmed that the number of Armenia’s unemployed has reduced in the registry of the employment agency, since the government is conducting a more active policy toward providing jobs.

In addition, as per the minister, there is a difference between the official and the real unemployment rates in the country. Accordingly, the official unemployment rate is about 7 percent, whereas the household surveys indicate that the real rate is around 17 percent.