Number of benefit recipients decreased by 18%: Integrated Social  Service reports to PM

ArmInfo. The number of families receiving benefits over the past 2 years has decreased by 18%. This  was reported to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the  Integrated Social Service of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs , during a discussion of the  activity report 2023  of the Service.  

As the Prime Minister's press service reports, ISS head Eduard Petrosyan and  his deputies stated that, in particular, over the past year the  number of "active" beneficiaries of the Service who received social  support benefits through the ISS at least once, amounted to 501,329  people, which is 21.3% or 87,966 more people than in 2022.

During the reporting period, the number of families registered in the  insecurity assessment system and receiving benefits in 2023 decreased  compared to 2021, 2022 and 2023. Overall, the difference for 2021-  2023 is -18.1% (15,799 families). The downward trend is due not only  to an increase in the standard of living of families or a decrease in  the number of difficult life situations, but to more targeted and  professional work of regional centers.

The Prime Minister, in turn, noted that the reduction was the result  of administration. "Families that should not receive benefits, but  do, we identified them and removed them from the lists," he said.   Responsible persons noted that since 2021 their number has decreased  to 82 thousand, while the dynamics have remained the same. It was  noted that the number of applicants for benefits decreased by 7-8  thousand.  "That is, people who must apply for documents annually are  assumed to have realized that there is no point in applying," said  the head of the Service.

In the field of employment in 2021-2023, it was reported that during  2023, 86,842 job seekers received advice on employment issues in the  territorial centers of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection.   18,268 employers cooperated with the Integrated Social Service .  Although the current legislation does not establish a mandatory norm  for employers to provide vacant jobs to internally displaced persons,  nevertheless, as a result of established partnerships, as well as the  employer's social responsibility, 12,421 vacant jobs were collected,  of which 1,317 were new jobs. Hiring is up about 50% compared to  2021.  As a result of cooperation with employers and partners, 16,933  people received suitable job offers in 2023, which increased by 110%  compared to 2021. As a result of the work carried out, 10,878 people  were employed last year, an increase of 7.5% compared to 2021. The  number of employed persons registered in the family insecurity  assessment system is 3,792 people, of which 2,961 people receive  family benefits.  3,733 people were employed under employment  programs.

According to the ISS, about 22 thousand forcibly displaced persons  from Nagorno-Karabakh are already receiving pensions, about 1,200  people are receiving benefits