10 July, Minsk /BELTA correspondent/. The number of unemployed women in Belarus is decreasing, the employment policy department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection informed a BELTA correspondent. Thus, over the past year, their number decreased by 22.7% - from 20.3 thousand people as of July 1, 2010, to 15.7 thousand as of July 1, 2011. Moreover, in May of this year, the number of unemployed women decreased by 0.7 thousand, and in June - by 0.2 thousand people. The largest number of unemployed women is still recorded in the Gomel region (3.1 thousand), and the smallest - in Minsk and the Grodno region (1.6 thousand people each). The proportion of women in the structure of unemployment is also decreasing. This indicator decreased to 51.3% as of July 1 of the current year. For comparison: as of January 1, 2011, it was 52.6%, and as of July 1, 2010 - 52.2%. It is worth recalling that a separate subsection "Promotion of Women's Employment" has been included in the State Programme for Employment Promotion of the Population of the Republic of Belarus for 2011. In accordance with the planned measures, the practice of holding specialized job fairs with the predominant use of female labour will continue this year. Mothers who have not worked for a long time due to childcare are entitled to priority referral for vocational training in specialties in demand on the labour market, which provide opportunities for self-employment and home-based work. Unemployed mothers who have not worked due to childcare for a child under 3 years of age are given the opportunity to adapt to workplaces within the framework of "Youth Practice" (at least 50% of those in need of employment). -0-

BELTA