Lazutka on increased immigration: Lithuanians do not accept to work in such conditions

Sigismund Mauricas, chief economist at Luminor Bank, said it would be wise to extend the payment of job search benefits, as this would likely help keep more Lithuanians in the country.

“I think it would be convenient to extend (job search benefits – ELTA) at least until the spring, because in the spring we will probably have a much better epidemiological situation (…), and the economic recovery should be fast enough,” he said Eltai. Mauricas.

“But the biggest challenge will be waiting until spring. And that is why I think it is appropriate to support people, especially young people, because if they do not receive support, they can … to keep as many people as possible in Lithuania. I think that would be smart enough, since we have enough reserves to support the people, “he added.

However, the economist pointed out that the cessation of payment of job search benefits is likely to reduce the real number of unemployed in the Employment Service.

“Without a doubt, the number of unemployed in the Employment Service will decrease (…). People have started registering for various social guarantees, but they are probably not ready to accept job offers. They may be involved in some form of individual shadow activity and are not really looking for work, ”he said.

Ž. Mauricas stated that the growth trend of unemployment in Lithuania was remarkable last year, and one of the reasons was the faster transformation of the market in Lithuania.

“The unemployment growth trend has been observed since last year. One of the hypotheses is why this is happening: Lithuania is experiencing faster growth than other Baltic countries, the market transformation is faster, IT specialists are lacking , qualified engineers, the least qualified cannot be redirected to the required areas, the flexibility of the labor market is lacking, ”said Eltai.

According to the economist, another reason for the growth of unemployment in Lithuania is the increasing immigration of workers from third countries.

“Another reason is that immigration from third countries is growing in Lithuania. Local workers are being replaced by immigrants and this is not a good trend as we could fall into the clutches of structural unemployment for a long time. For this reason, the immigration policy must be reviewed with great seriousness and responsibility (….).

Now, technological change is so fast and fast that in 10 years, artificial intelligence is likely to do most of the technical work that immigrants are supposed to do now, ”he said.

Speaking of ways to reduce the shadow of the labor market in Lithuania, Ž. Mauricas said that the most effective way to do this would be to attract high value-added companies to Lithuania, clarify the entire labor system and reduce the flow of cheap labor.

“The best way to reduce the shadow is to attract large companies with high added value to the country or, better still, to develop them internally (…). When large exporting companies arrive in Lithuania, they find it very difficult to pay shadow money. Another way is the clarification of systems and the availability and digitization of information and the aforementioned restriction of cheap labor (…). It is also important to reduce the cash in circulation. Having a digital economy makes it more difficult to operate in the shadows, “he assured Eltai.

The economist also stressed that he does not believe that many jobs will be lost after the introduction of the second quarantine, as companies have already seen the economy recover really quickly after the quarantine.

“I don’t think many jobs will be lost because companies have seen the recovery from quarantine faster than expected.” Above all because companies use support measures, let’s say compensation for downtime, or they themselves are more inclined to pay employees, because they understand that the pandemic will pass sooner or later and the company will have to continue operating, “he said. Ž. Mauricas.

At that time, the sociologist and economist Romas Lazutka also stated that a large number of people registered with the Employment Service were not looking for work, but for benefits and benefits.

“People often register with the Employment Service to receive various benefits, compensation for heating or to avoid having to pay for compulsory health insurance. Among these people may be those who are not looking for work at all or are working illegally,” he told Eltai.

The economist also argued that the current job search benefit for the unemployed could have been less, and it would have been more beneficial to extend the terms of the Sodra unemployment benefit.

“(Job Search Benefit – ELTA) was not very well planned, it would have been more useful to expand, adjust the payment conditions of the Sodra unemployment benefit, to facilitate them. This is how most EU countries reacted to the pandemic. And there could have been an additional payment of € 200, but with less coverage. He also needed to be more attentive to who it was paid for. So the job search benefit had to be designed a little differently, ”he said.

R. Lazutka emphasized that often the jobs offered by employers are not suitable and, as a result, the need for labor from third countries is increasing in the country.

“There is a shortage of jobs, although we are seeing an increase in the number of workers from, for example, Slavic countries. This means that the jobs offered by employers are often inadequate and Lithuanians do not accept to work in such conditions” , said.

At that time, according to R. Lazutka, the best incentive for people to start working is to guarantee quality and adequate working conditions in the country.

“The only guaranteed incentive for people to look for work is quality work. When an employment contract is signed, a decent salary is awarded for the work and skills of a person. The professional opportunities, working conditions and treatment of the employee are also important. It is necessary to manage the labor market and the unemployed will be happy to go to work. Therefore, it would be better not to administer any monetary incentive, but to administer the labor market, its conditions and supervision, “said R. Lazutka to Eltai.