As of late March, unemployment in the Baltic state stood at 10.4%, the majority of those affected are people aged from 20 to 24, with secondary education. Latvia has a population of about 2.3 million, with around 1 million of them of working age.
Latvia is experiencing one of the worst economic recessions of EU countries with GDP falling 10.5% in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, and many companies have gone bankrupt.
"At the moment, there are 56 unemployed people for every job vacancy," the newspaper quoted the deputy head of the ministry's labor department, Imants Lipskis.
In December, the government developed and parliament approved a stabilization program to raise VAT from 18% to 21% and proposed cuts in public spending of 15%.
Amid the ongoing crisis, the Latvian government has resolved to cut ministerial salaries by 15%, Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis announced on Wednesday.
Ministers currently receive a monthly salary of around $4,300.
