The European Union confirmed its plan to fight the increasing number of young unemployed in its member states, and allocated €8 billion to support projects within the Youth Guarantee programme aimed at helping unemployed people under 25. Slovakia could receive up to €100 million from this package, the Sme daily reported in its June 29 issue.
Slovakia plans to spend around €250-270 million to combat the increasing number of young jobless within the next two years, according to Prime Minister Robert Fico.
“We have already made agreements for 8,000 jobs for young people,” Fico said during the political talk show Sobotné Dialógy broadcast by public-service Slovak Radio (SRo).
Fico added that the Labour Ministry is already offering small and medium-sized companies the opportunity to have part of their salary expenditures covered for a period of six, nine or twelve months if they hire young people.
When it comes to unemployment in Slovakia, Fico mentioned in particular the long-term unemployed as well as high unemployment in Roma communities.
“We have a high number of Roma people, and their integration into the labour market is much more difficult than in other cases,” Fico told SRo. “Our foreign partners say that if we did not have to face this problem, unemployment in Slovakia would be 8-9 percent.”
Fico added that “when somebody is unemployed and receives money from the state, they should do something, after all”, promising measures aimed at dealing with high unemployment in Roma settlements in the autumn.
Source: Sme, SRo
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
