Much of Armenia’s job market remains in the shadows as an unofficial labour exchange continues to flourish

Yerevan’s “black employment exchange” in the heart of the city pulses with life early in the morning. Middle-aged men carrying materials for the painting and building trades rub shoulders with younger men who are busily making deals. These young men are the brokers who run most of the business in the market, getting here by six or seven in the morning. By eight, most of the qualified workers have been snapped up and it is only the unskilled labour that remains. The market has existed since Soviet times, when the authorities tolerated its presence even though it was strictly illegal. That remains the situation now, with the Armenian government turning a blind eye to a market that continues to do business because unemployment is high. Job-seekers say they came here because looking for work through the official labour exchanges can be very hard. According to a recent report from the Armenian National Statistics Agency, nine per cent of working-age Armenians - 112,000 people – are unemployed.