In the first two months of 2009 in Irkutsk, the number of laid off people doubled to 5.2 thousand, and the sharp rise in unemployment is blamed on the financial crisis and higher benefits. The article also describes the unemployed. Most have higher or vocational education, many are women and young people. There is still demand for blue collar jobs, with over 10 thousand vacancies, mainly for bricklayers, painters and plasterers.
In the first two months of 2009, the number of people laid off doubled compared with the same period last year and amounted to 5,225 people. This was reported at a conference for entrepreneurs by Lyudmila Savinykh, deputy director of the Irkutsk Employment Center.There are several reasons for such a sharp surge in unemployment. The main one is, of course, the financial crisis, but in addition, people have been flocking to the labor exchange because of increased benefits for the unemployed. Thus, since January, the maximum benefit amount has increased from 2,880 rubles to 4,900 rubles, and the minimum from 770 rubles to 850 rubles, excluding the regional coefficient.
Lyudmila Savinykh noted that 73% of the total number of unemployed are people with higher and specialized secondary education. Most of the unemployed (64%) are women. In addition, 45% are young people, 13% of whom are graduates of educational institutions who had never worked anywhere before.
During January-February 2009, 349 enterprises in the Irkutsk Region replenished the vacancies bank. As of March 25, more than 10,490 vacancies had been posted, about 8,000 of them for foreign citizens. Of the total number of offers, 90% are for workers. Traditionally, the most in demand remain bricklayers, painters, and plasterers.