Programs to create jobs and improve life still to take off
Just having a source of income is not enough, as many people in the country are realizing. Some 50% of Mongolians earn too low wages to lead a comfortable life and the Government has no policy to help these 60,000 households rise above the poverty line. Unemployment is increasing year by year and some MPs have said there are between 300,000 and 400,000 people now without jobs.
A survey has found 61% of the population will be of the working age in 2025. Adequately paid jobs have to be found for them, or the economy may very well collapse under the burden of welfare allowances. At the same time, wages have to be productivity-based. If State service salaries and pensions are increased a lot, the private sector may have serious problems with finding enough properly qualified employees.
Parliament discussed all these issues on December 25. The Minister of Social Welfare and Labor reported that the percentage of working-age population rose from 48.5% in 2007 to 66.5% at the end of 2009, while the number of those working stood at 1 million and 155,000 or 44% of the population. Of them 160,000 are state employees and the rest work in the private sector. MPs said they are besieged with requests for a job in a state organization because of the high salary, less work and other benefits. Another reason is that the Government has done little to encourage the private sector to prosper and job security there continues to be low.
The two-year program to develop small and medium enterprises has seen MNT30 billion disbursed as loan in 2009 and 2010. Difficult collateral conditions did not allow many to avail themselves of the loan but repayment has been 98%, and 6,000 jobs have been created.
Of course, the big projects that would improve people’s life are still to take off. These include Oyutolgoi, Tavantolgoi and New Construction. The last could not be started in the second half of 2010 as the necessary capital of MNT18.2 trillion would come from the mining revenues. Income from Oyutolgoi and Tavantolgoi will also pay for the payment of the monthly allowance of MNT21,000 to every citizen and to build 1000 km of railway.
The Government keeps saying that mining extension, new railway construction, 100,000 apartments building program, the auto road network linking aimags and such national projects will generate between 40,000 and 60,000 new jobs. Unfortunately, for the people who hope to get these jobs, everything so far has been just promises.
A survey has found 61% of the population will be of the working age in 2025. Adequately paid jobs have to be found for them, or the economy may very well collapse under the burden of welfare allowances. At the same time, wages have to be productivity-based. If State service salaries and pensions are increased a lot, the private sector may have serious problems with finding enough properly qualified employees.
Parliament discussed all these issues on December 25. The Minister of Social Welfare and Labor reported that the percentage of working-age population rose from 48.5% in 2007 to 66.5% at the end of 2009, while the number of those working stood at 1 million and 155,000 or 44% of the population. Of them 160,000 are state employees and the rest work in the private sector. MPs said they are besieged with requests for a job in a state organization because of the high salary, less work and other benefits. Another reason is that the Government has done little to encourage the private sector to prosper and job security there continues to be low.
The two-year program to develop small and medium enterprises has seen MNT30 billion disbursed as loan in 2009 and 2010. Difficult collateral conditions did not allow many to avail themselves of the loan but repayment has been 98%, and 6,000 jobs have been created.
Of course, the big projects that would improve people’s life are still to take off. These include Oyutolgoi, Tavantolgoi and New Construction. The last could not be started in the second half of 2010 as the necessary capital of MNT18.2 trillion would come from the mining revenues. Income from Oyutolgoi and Tavantolgoi will also pay for the payment of the monthly allowance of MNT21,000 to every citizen and to build 1000 km of railway.
The Government keeps saying that mining extension, new railway construction, 100,000 apartments building program, the auto road network linking aimags and such national projects will generate between 40,000 and 60,000 new jobs. Unfortunately, for the people who hope to get these jobs, everything so far has been just promises.
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