OREANDA-NEWS. November 05, 2008. In 2009, the level of unemployment in Ukraine may grow to 7.7%, Labor and Social Policy Minister Liudmyla Denysova told a board meeting.

Worsening of the situation in labor market will start in December, she says.

By this day, over 822,000 people have an incomplete workday, and over 25,000 people were sent on unpaid leave. Exactly those people may be sacked in the first place, the minister says. The labor market is likely to have 1.4 million jobless people, 538,000 being already registered at the State Employment Service, with 198,000 vacancies available.

To employ people who are expected to lose their jobs, it is necessary to adapt the system of professional training to the new market conditions, Denysova says.

She says there will be new investment programs in construction and agro-industrial complex. So, the unemployed will be retrained precisely for those industries.

The minister also noted that the set sizes of material payments to the jobless will be preserved, and their financing from the unemployment insurance fund will continue in a full volume. At the same time, spending on the fund maintenance will be reduced.

The expected volume of the labor remuneration fund will total UAH 294 billion by the end of the year, with the planned UAH 322 billion (UAH 5.76 / USD 1), i.e. 8% less than planned.