DUSHANBE, January 21, 2013, Asia-Plus  -- According to the State Agency of Social Protection, Employment and Migration under the Ministry of Labor and Social protection, 105,241 Tajik citizens applied to the Agency for assistance in 2012, the monthly report for January 2013, Monitoring and Early Warning in Tajikistan , said.

Of this number, 63,540 individuals registered as seeking employment, and 42,566 were officially registered as unemployed.  Last year, the Employment Centers reportedly provided 35,374 individuals with the new jobs, or 33.6% of those who applied.  In addition, 2,771 vulnerable individuals in the labor market were provided with the jobs through a system of reserved positions.  The main reasons of the low number of employed individuals is that a majority of unemployed do not have specific technical skills or have lost skills due to long interruptions in work, and also low salaries.

Over the first eleven months of last year, 8,140 unemployed individuals received unemployment benefits totaling 2,018,127 somoni.  According to the State Agency of Social Protection, Employment and Migration, as of 1 January 2012 the total number of individuals seeking employment was 73,897, including those from 2011. Of this number, 52,342 individuals have status as unemployed.  In January-November of 2012, 12,981 individuals were sent for vocational training, and 5,283 individuals were employed in state-funded public works and 3,765 citizens were given soft credits for starting-up own business.

Information available to the State Agency of Social Protection, Employment and Migration indicates a total of 132,251 new jobs were created last year, 4% more than in 2011 (127,371).

The aim of the Tajikistan Monthly Monitoring and Early Warning Reports (MEWS) Reports is to provide regular information and succinct analysis on the evolution of natural, economic, food-related, energy-related and other risk factors in Tajikistan.  Data and information in this report are provided by different sources and compiled by the MEW System GoT Group of Experts and UN Agencies in Tajikistan.