Government wants to cut unemployment benefits

The Government should consider cutting unemployment benefits for people who are unwilling to take a job in the long term, said Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD) on Monday after an Economic and Social Council (HSR) session. According to Economy Minister Peter Žiga (Smer-SD) there are around 150,000 unemployed people in Slovakia and at the same time some 100,000 vacancies. "It can be said that only those who really don't want to work don't have a job at the moment," said Žiga, without adding any details on the potential mismatch between the skills of the unemployed and the requirements of employers. One of the solutions he proposed could be the introduction of a three-month period, during which, those who are unemployed would continue to receive benefits and would have to use that time to find a new job. If they fail, they would stop receiving benefits after that period.