We have invited representatives of the companies that have created and have the most jobs in Armenia—some of them owners, managers, and directors, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted during a meeting with representatives of Armenia’s large employers on Monday.

“First of all, I would like to thank you for the function that you are performing, also because companies have been largely responsive to [Armenian] government policies since 2018 and continue to be responsive. One of our main emphases is that 288,000 jobs have been created in Armenia since 2018. But it is obvious that we [i.e. the Armenian authorities] did not create these jobs, you created them. Of course, government policies contributed to this and created an environment.

Initially, we were very focused on the question of how many jobs [in Armenia] simply came out of the shadows, how many were created from scratch, but then we realized that this conversation is very confusing. It is very important that we continue this dynamic,” added the Armenian PM.

Pashinyan informed that the ruling Civil Contract party has put on its election platform the task of creating at least 25,000 jobs per year in Armenia.

“In general, the processes that are currently taking place and are expected in the labor market [of Armenia] should be the subject of special attention, including because the introduction and increasing inclusion of artificial intelligence in the economy poses risks, including in terms of jobs. (...). We have spent billions in recent years to make the economy [of Armenia] modern and productively efficient, (...). By and large, from 2018 to the present, despite the Covid and the [Nagorno-Karabakh] war of 2020, we have ensured an average economic growth of 7 percent [in Armenia]," the premier said.