Terrifying statistics: the number of unemployed is so high that we can reach the recession of 2010

Eyebrow and lash specialist Aistė is currently unemployed. The girl cannot accept clients or be trained in the trade in which she is dedicated. Instead, she walks to the COVID-19 checkpoint almost daily, where she works as a volunteer.

“The pandemic has not really helped and improved the situation for me and I don’t have any income to this day,” he says.

The girl applied for the job at the Employment Service, but the subsistence allowance is not enough.

“It’s enough for taxes and rent, but I also want to eat,” he said.

So Šiauliai is trying to find a new job. Aistė would like to earn around 1000 euros, but the searches have not been successful so far.

“Jobs like factories or cleaners are really plentiful and can be found with confidence, but if by specialty or education, after training and skills, it is a little more difficult,” he adds.

The number of unemployed in Lithuania is also shown in the figures. If at the beginning of the year there were 268 thousand unemployed registered with the Employment Service, in February there were 14 thousand more, a total of 282 thousand. That represents just over 16 percent of people of working age. Last year, there were almost half. The employment service describes the situation as tense and difficult.

“Compared to last year, the change is really significant, as growth reaches 7.2 percent. Exactly 1 year ago registered unemployment amounted to 9.2 percent. Of the entire workforce in the country”, – Head of the Employment Service Inga Balnanosienė

Economists say that registered unemployment will soon reach the level of the 2010 crisis.

“There is a question as to whether we will reach a historical record in February and March. Because the unemployment registered on the first day of February was 16.4 percent. The crisis record is 16.8 percent. It is very close to that. peak, ”says economist Tadas Povilauskas.

The 28-year-old Amber could also join the ranks of the unemployed. The manicurist-instructor did not receive a grant of 260 euros, so she got a job as a supermarket cashier to survive. Gintarė, who now works for minimum wage, says there is only enough money to survive. The girl feels comforted because her psychological state is particularly deteriorating. Amber is even thinking of emigrating from Lithuania.

“For the last four days, I cried when I got home because I didn’t feel at all in my sled. I started thinking about going to Sweden because I could do my job there, ”he says.

The Employment Service notes that the pandemic hit people like Amber the hardest. The ranks of the unemployed in the 29-year-old age group doubled. Unemployment registration also in the ranks of women.

“Last year and this year we have a situation in the country where the unemployment of women is higher than that of men. We have not had a situation like this for five years ”, comments I. Balnanosienė.

Still, economists say the Department of Statistics data more accurately reflects actual unemployment. After all, the data from the Employment Service is distorted by the fact that some of the unemployed signed up for it last year only to receive a lump sum, and they are not actually looking for work. However, the Employment Service claims that it is a minority.

“They can be students, they can be people who work somewhere, people who don’t work anywhere and don’t want to work at all,” said economist T. Povilauskas.

Meanwhile, a representative of the Employment Service says that there are around 50,000 cases of this type. And even more people are involved in the economic recession: about 120 thousand.

However, the unemployment rate recorded by the Department of Statistics rose just over 2 percent during the pandemic. And the forecasts of the experts still do not promise anything good. This rise in unemployment is not over yet, the ranks of the unemployed will continue to grow.

“The growth is not great compared to the scale of the crisis we had, but as I said, that number still does not show the complete picture. Because let’s not forget that many measures will continue to be applied, both direct payments to employees, that is, , compensation for downtime, such as business support, and that real picture will be seen, as they say, when the snow melts, ”says economist Žygimantas Mauricas.

Gediminas Balnis, head of one of the largest power supply networks, says that returning to a normal work rate after the end of the pandemic will be a real challenge. Furthermore, Lithuanians may even have to fight for jobs as some of them are likely to be held by foreigners.

“We are already starting to look for employees, we are starting to make selections from foreign countries, because in fact there is a lot of uncertainty, not only to find employees quantitatively, but what motivation they will have. It really doesn’t work for a long time, it really is that people get used to it, they get used to the loads, ”says Gediminas Balnis, director of Amber Food.

According to him, there is a lack of employees in Lithuania who have the necessary qualifications and work experience. The man says he often brings in workers from abroad, especially from Ukraine, with 10 or more years of work experience. Their main advantage is that they are more productive than Lithuanians.