Almost 55.9 thousand jobs were created in Belarus in January-May

June 15, Minsk /Elena Prus - BELTA/. In Belarus, 55,885 jobs were created in January-May 2009. As reported to BELTA correspondent by the Main Department of Employment Policy and Population of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, this is 24.6% of the annual target (in total for 2009, at least 161.5 thousand new jobs should appear in the republic). In the Vitebsk region, the annual target for job creation was met by 39.1% in five months - this is the highest figure in the republic. 9,185 new jobs were organized here. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection noted with satisfaction that the process of job creation is particularly active in small towns and rural areas of the republic. Thus, in small towns in January-May, 11,045 new jobs appeared (55.7% of the annual target), and in rural areas - 7,043 (58.7%). It should be noted that this area of activity is extremely relevant in terms of normalizing the situation in the labor market. Employers were allocated budget loans for job creation - 850 people were employed nationwide in January-May using these loans. The ministry emphasized that it is necessary to create more jobs using budget loans for the employment of citizens who have additional guarantees in the field of employment promotion. -0-