KHUJAND, August 14, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- As of July 1, 2009 the overall number of the economically active population in the Sughd province was 748,500 people; 14,800, or 2 percent, of them, have been officially registered as unemployed, according to the Sughd agency for statistics.

398,700 people, or 54.3 percent, now work for hire.

Compared to June 2008, the number of hired workers working in the productive industry sphere in June this year decreased by 1.1 percent to 284,500 people.  In the meantime, the number of hired workers in the nonproduction sphere increased by 1.2 percent and amounted to 107,700 people in June 2009.