Govt approves 3.5% unemployment assistance rise

TIRANA, August 18 – Government approved on Wednesday a 3.5 percent rise in unemployment assistance indexing it to the inflation rate.
The new base unemployment assistance rate will be 6,565 lek (65 dollars) a month. The average amount each person will benefit goes up to 8,100 lek (80 dollars) a month, said government in a statement.
The effects of this change will be covered by the budget Social Affairs Ministry.
The latest data published by the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) showed unemployed increased to 13.83 percent during the first quarter of 2010, up from 12.68 percent during the same period last year and 13.75 in the last quarter of 2009.
INSTAT data show the number of jobless people at the end of March increased by another 1,270 compared to the previous quarter and 3,300 year-on-year, reaching 144,608 out of a total labour force of 1.04 million.