Yerevan, April 17, Noyan Tapan. Additional half to one billion dram may be allocated to social payments, said Armen Hambardzumian, Minister of Labor and Social Issues, at the conference “Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Armenia” on April 14 in Yerevan. The one-day conference was organized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Issues, the United Nations, World Bank and International Monetary Fund offices in Armenia. Mr. Hambardzumian made a comprehensive report on “Social Impact of the Global Economic Crisis and implemented measures in Armenia” to the audience of 120 participants from Armenia and abroad. During the first two months of 2009 the unemployment rate in Armenia increased, while the Gross Domestic Product decreased by 3.7 percent compared to the same period of last year. As Mr. Hambardzumian reported, the number of unemployed reached 99 thousand people in April this year, while in last January 82.2 thousand people were looking for jobs,. 17 663 people received unemployment benefits against 14 500 envisaged by the state budget in April of 2009. More than 30 000 families were registered in the system of social benefits by the first quarter of this year, 17215 out of which became beneficiaries: about 6 000 families a month received a right to benefits against 500 in January-February of 2008. According to A.Hambadzumian, if the number of beneficiary families and the number of receiving unemployment benefits increase in such a pace, then the amounts allocated for social spending might not be enough, and additional 0.5-1 billion AMD may be directed to ensure social payments. The intended amount of socials spending is equal to 39,2 billion AMD, 21 per cent more than last year (7 billion AMD). Meanwhile, the number of people included in different social aid systems is 106 000, against 114 thousand envisaged by the budget. This difference is appeared since 19 000 families were removed from the lists, thanks to investigations revealing the facts of unfair selection, said the minister, mentioning that it is necessary to optimize the benefit distribution system.

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