'What's your age, please?'

  • 1999-07-22
  • By Diana Kudayarova
RIGA - It was just another ad in just another issue of Rigas Santims, a free paper filled with classifieds that is dropped in mailboxes every Tuesday afternoon. It read: "A firm will find you a job placement within three days. No service charge." And then "Age 35 or younger" and a phone number.

The proportion of people out of jobs increases for those aged 35 through 44, reaching 14.1 percent. Only 13.6 percent of 30-to-34-year-olds and 12.9 percent of 25-to-29-year-olds are without jobs.

Against this backdrop, the number of job places in Riga is increasing. January to March 1999 brought better employment opportunities than the corresponding months of the year before, and were much more fruitful than 1997 and 1996.

"There are jobs for everyone," Alena, from the Lar Est employment agency said. "We have people calling, aged anywhere from 18 to 60. Different kinds of jobs are available for different people. A person with a Latvian language certificate, with good communication skills and under, say, 50 or 55 can find work in food retail, fish packing - that's a big thing now - or cutting wire for nails. The nails are a recent addition," Alena said with a smile.

"Of course, other jobs carry age restrictions. Any retail other than food, customer service type jobs are generally for under 35."

Precisely the retail and service sector - of which food retail is but a small part - is now growing in Latvia. From 1990 to 1997 the share of trade and service jobs almost doubled, going up from 7.7 percent to 14.6 percent of total employment. At the same time the share of industrial employment fell from 27.8 percent to 19.2 percent.

The trend continues into 1999. In the first quarter of the year, wages increased in wholesale, retail and repair works, air transport, post and communications, as well as operations with real estate, indicating growing labor demand in these areas. Out of the whole list, all but food retail seems to favor young employees.

The first thing the DSM Riga employment agency asks is "Your age, please?" The agency promises a job within three days for those under 35.

"We offer job placements in retail," a DSM Riga agent explained. "Selling CD's, videotapes and such. They are aimed at younger customers who are better served by younger people. Besides, we need flexible schedules and a good deal of energy."

Looks like students willing to earn a bit of extra cash over the summer break will not have much trouble finding a job. Apart from the fact that general trends in economic development favor a younger labor force, they also have to face kinder, gentler effects of economic fluctuations then their older counterparts.

In Riga, the registered unemployment of those without work experience (presumably mostly young people) has been declining from 1996 through the second quarter of 1998. For those with work experience the positive momentum died out in late 1997, half a year earlier. When the fortunes turned for everyone, the "inexperienced" unemployment grew at a much slower rate than the "experienced."

Explanations? There are several. First, de-industrialization of the economy affects older generations to a greater extent, since they were more heavily employed in the industrial sector. Second, older people may seek stability and "job for life," which can stop them taking jobs that are evidently temporary, thus prolonging their unemployment spells.

As a 41-year-old unemployed woman who didn't want to name herself said, "We just can't stand up to competition! The generation which is entering the job market now knows two or three foreign languages and is not afraid of computers. We try to learn too, but it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks."

The labor market spells good news for students and recent graduates. The trouble is, only slightly above 20 percent of students and no more than a half of those under 25 in general works are actively looking for work. A group that really seeks employment is the 35-to-44-year-olds: 89.2 percent of them are economically active. And the psychological cost they have to pay for unemployment is much higher.