Decline in unemployment is not due to an increase in jobs, but to the withdrawal of the unemployed from the labour market
Statement by Haris Polycarpou, member of the C.C. of AKEL
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 18th July 2016, Nicosia
The recent figures released by the Labour Force Survey and the Human Resource Development Authority show that:
- The labour force has been reduced by 20,000 persons compared with the same period of 2015.
- While a fall in unemployment is recorded, at the same time there is also a reduction in the number of people that are working.
- Each job vacancy corresponds to 6 unemployed people.
- Individuals who aren’t working, but neither are they looking for work has increased by almost 25,000 compared to last year
From the above figures it appears that the decline in unemployment is not due to an increase in the number of jobs, but due to the withdrawal of unemployed people from the labour market, who are either frustrated and thus are no longer looking for work or migrate abroad.
This picture sums up the current government’s vision for working people. Up to now the government’s policies are forcing those who do find a job to work on starvation wages, irregular working times and limited rights. Those who do not find work, especially young graduates, are dejected and no longer continue searching for a job or they migrate abroad.
Faced with these policies, AKEL has proposed policies promoting sustainable growth and development, for increased public and private investments to create stable, full and high quality jobs.
AKEL has also submitted proposals for the protection of working people’s incomes and proposals to provide support for the vulnerable groups of the population so that income inequality, which today is on a path of dramatic increase, is halted.
