The Labor Ministry bets on European funds to offset the effects of the economic downturn

Romania's Labor Ministry will count on the absorption of European funds to preserve jobs and create new ones to fight the economic crisis, according to the government secretary within this ministry Marius Lazar.

The ministry is currently assessing the situation in Romania and is looking into the social impact of crisis.

"I think we shouldn't fear a social apocalypse," Lazar said, adding the number of the unemployed cannot reach 500,000 people as estimated by the Finance Minister Gheorghe Pogea two days ago.

Pogea estimated the number of the unemployed people will go up to 505,000. The last figure was 403,400 last year and it grew towards yearend when large companies faced with cutbacks send employees home on technical unemployment.

The Labor Ministry is preparing both short-term and long-term measures to cope with the crisis, Lazar said, enumerating among these raising small pensions and salaries, hiking the pension point to 45 percent of the gross average salary, raise the unemployment allowance and granting it on longer periods of time than before.

Officials from the ministry will meet other Cabinet members at the Finance Ministry in two days to tackle the anti crisis measures, Lazar added.

NewsIn