Unemployment increases in Kurdistan
HEWLER (DİHA) - The unemployment rate in Kurdistan has risen from 7% to 10% while investment has declined from 16 billion to 3 billion dollars.
The unemployment rate has increased due to the economic situation of the Kurdistan Region and the sanctions that Baghdad has put on the region. “Before 2014, the unemployment rate was 7%, however, according to our latest statistics for unemployment, this rate has increased to %10”, said Mahmud Osman, Statistics Director in Sulaimaniyah. According to the data of the Ministry of Planning, in the first six months in 2013, unemployment rate was 5.2%.
The Statistics Director office in Sulaimaniyah believes that the increase in unemployment is mainly due to the lack of job opportunities for university graduates as well as the rarity of loans to given to youths. According to official figures, the Kurdistan Region’s Statistics Office has registered nearly 100 thousand unemployed people in the region. Among those 52% are men. “We have negotiated with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for providing as many job opportunities as possible for all the Kurdish people. We have set special plans to solve this issue” said Muhammed Hawdeyani, Kurdistan Regional Labour and Social Affairs minister.
The Social Affairs minister also said that they don’t have the exact data yet, but he believes that the increase in the number of refugees in Kurdistan might be another factor in leading to the lack of job opportunities in the region. “Through our training courses with international social organizations, well-trained experts will be built and we will be giving them certificates. We will also try to have contact with the organizations that are involved in providing job opportunities,’ he added. Meanwhile, Iraqi social affairs Minister Naser Ruba’i revealed that 46 percent of Iraqi citizens are jobless.
(nt)
