Unemployment in Armenia rose to 13.9% in 2024 from 12.4% a year earlier – WB

YEREVAN, April 23. /ARKA/. Growth in Armenia's economic activity slowed to 1.5 percent (yoy) in February 2025, down from 7.1 percent (yoy) in January, the World Bank said in its latest Armenia monthly economic update – April 2025.

The first two months of 2025 brought cumulative growth to 4.1 percent (yoy). In February, the significant decline in economic activity was due to contraction in the industrial sector (down 26.6 percent, yoy).

This was driven by a fall in manufacturing (down 33.3 percent, yoy), due to reduced alcoholic beverage, base metal, and mining production (down 29.7 percent, yoy).

Transport and communication also declined, down 5.1 percent (yoy) and 1.2 percent (yoy), respectively.

Construction and services continued their double-digit growth, up 12.7 percent (yoy) and 12.1 percent (yoy), respectively. In 2024, the Q4 unemployment rate was lower compared with the previous quarters; however, the annual unemployment rate stood at 13.9 percent, higher than the 12.4 percent recorded in 2023, due to rising unemployment in urban and rural areas for both women and men.

At the close of December 2024, the Armenian government put into action the Employment Strategy for 2025-2031, aimed primarily at addressing the issue of unemployment. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Narek Mkrtchyan, pointed out that research indicates a segment of the potentially employable population lacks competitiveness, possessing insufficient skills to meet the demands of today’s job market.

The strategy specifically targets residents of regional cities, unemployed youth who are not currently pursuing education, women aged 30-39, and those receiving family and social benefits. Additionally, Babken Tunyan, Deputy Chairman of the Standing Parliamentary Committee on Economic Affairs and a member of the ruling Civil Contract party, mentioned that the government's goal is to reduce the unemployment rate to under 10%.-0-