DUSHANBE, December 18, 2013, Asia-Plus -- According to the State Agency of Social Protection, Employment and Migration, during the first eleven months of 2013 some 110,000 persons have contacted the Agency for assistance with employment.

Of this total, more than 63,000 individuals were registered as job seekers and nearly 47,000 were officially registered as unemployed.

Over the same eleven-month period, more than 35,000 people have been provided with jobs, which is nearly 32% of the total number of people who applied.

The main reasons for providing a limited number of people with jobs were that the majority of unemployed do not have the necessary technical training or have lost skills due to prolonged unemployment, and the low level of wages offered by employers.

In January-November 2013, unemployment benefits were provided to 6,700 people for a total of some 2.9 million somoni (equivalent to some 600,000 USD).  Including carryover from 2012, on December 1, 2013, a total of 55,300 persons were registered with the Agency as looking for work, including 47,000 registered as unemployed.

Over the report period, some 18,000 people have been sent to vocational trainings, more than 4,600 people have been provided with social-paid jobs and nearly 3,200 people have been provided with soft loans to start business.