We must keep locals in work as long as possible or have to think about immigrants - welfare minister

RIGA - The state must think how to keep local residents in the labor market for as long as possible, or it will have to think about attracting immigrants, Welfare Minister Uldis Augulis (Greens/Farmers) told LETA in an interview.

Speaking about immigration policy and attracting migrant workers from third countries, the minister believes that the labor market should primarily involve local human resources as much as possible, including people with disabilities.

"As far as attracting labor from outside is concerned, we need to look at how skilled it is. Do we need low-skilled migrant workers or workers with qualifications?" the politician said, noting that he had discussed with the Uzbek ambassador how to ensure that people from third countries are not employed illegally in Latvia.

Augulis drew attention to the large proportion of young people aged between 15 and 25 who are neither studying nor working. In his opinion, it is necessary to understand how many of them are outside Latvia, how many work illegally, how many neither work nor study.

He believes that it is important to work on a re-migration policy and also to create favorable employment conditions for pensioners who want to work.

"Without labor, economic growth is impossible," the Minister said.

The Minister would not predict at this stage whether local resources will be sufficient. It depends on both economic growth and demographic trends. It is important to work on faster productivity growth, quality jobs, higher wages for workers and thus more resources to finance the common needs of society, says Augulis.

The fundamental drivers of productivity remain unchanged, he said, and are linked to investment in human capital, including investment to support the employment of young people and pre-retirees.