Armenia approves Employment Strategy for 2025-2031

YEREVAN, December 27. /ARKA/. On Thursday, the Armenian government approved the Employment Strategy for 2025-2031, with the main goal of combating unemployment.

Armenian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan stated that unemployment in Armenia is both seasonal and structural.

"The reasons are varied, but studies show that a portion of the potentially employable population is not competitive and lacks the skills necessary to meet the needs of the modern labor market," he said.

The minister also mentioned that, according to the latest data from 2022, around 15% of Armenia's workforce is underutilized, which, on one hand, points to untapped potential, and on the other, contributes to the rise in poverty.

"The cause of this is the mismatch between supply and demand in the labor market. A significant portion of the workforce is not competitive and does not possess the knowledge, skills, and professional qualifications necessary to meet the demands of the modern labor market," the document states.

The strategy's target groups are residents of regional cities, non-studying and unemployed youth, women aged 30-39, and recipients of family and social benefits.

The adopted document outlines the following strategic goals:

• Increase employment in the non-agricultural sector with high productivity in communities, including regional cities.
• Boost employment among non-studying and unemployed youth aged 18-29 through continuous skill development, expanding opportunities for their implementation, and increasing productivity.
• Increase employment among women by fully and sustainably realizing their potential in the labor market, as well as fostering entrepreneurship, especially focused on employing middle-aged women (30-40 years old).
• Integrate recipients of family and social benefits who do not have work capacity restrictions by improving the efficiency of the social benefits system.
• Transform the state employment policy system to focus on developing human capital, increasing high-productivity jobs, and reducing the mismatch between labor supply and demand.

As a result of implementing the strategy, the document anticipates the following outcomes by 2031:

• The employment rate in communities, including regional cities, will reach 60.7%, compared to 51.2% in 2022.
• The share of non-studying and non-working youth aged 20-29 will decrease to 19.6%, compared to 35% in 2022.
• The workforce utilization rate will exceed 60%, and the number of employed individuals will increase by 252,000, reaching 1.4 million people.
• The employment program will significantly impact the poverty rate, reducing it to 19%.