Benchmark Study 1

IPP 1st BENCHMARK REPORT
By stimulating urban-rural partnership it will be possible to ensure more equal life and work conditions,
access to and quality of basic services, as well as mobility possibilities in both cities and the countryside.
Reduction of the risk of structural unemployment
Unemployment rate in Latvia is currently one of the highest in the EU. In 2010, the average share of
job-seekers in Latvia was 18,7%. The share of long-term unemployed in the total number of registered
unemployed compared to the previous years has increased significantly – from 11% at the end of 2008
to 27.3% at the end of June 2010. Long-term unemployment could lead to high risks of structural unemployment
negatively affecting labour skills and motivation to integrate in the labour market.
Table 1. Employment target’s achievement trajectory
2008 2009 2010 2015 2020
Number of population 1400.3 1403.9 1405.3 1390.4 1322.1
(aged 20–64)
Number of employed 1061.1 941.9 907.5 958.4 965.1
(aged 20–64)
Employment rate, % 75.8 67.1 64.6 68.9 73.0
Additional investments in training of the unemployed for improvement of qualification and other activation
measures will be therefore of crucial importance. Improved link between active labour market programmes
(ALMPs) and other social services like social benefits will be of importance for reducing risks
of structural unemployment.
Key policy directions and measures for reduction of the risk of structural unemployment:
o Improvement of lifelong learning system (offering flexible vocational education programmes etc.);
o Further development of the ALMPs (analyzing best practice examples and approaches to implementing
ALMPs in other countries; improving service delivery systems to the unemployed and
other economically active by introducing new service provision systems like “training vouchers”
with accompanying performance monitoring; further developing ALMPs for the most vulnerable
groups of unemployed;
o Structural changes in vocational education (optimization and differentiation of vocational education
institutions’ network, modernization of training equipment and improvement of infrastructure
for implementation of vocational education programmes and for ensuring preparation of secondary
professional qualification specialists required in the labour market);
o Modernization of higher education (improving financing system of higher education, by introducing
a performance-based financing model of higher education and science with the aim to ensure
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