RIGA, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- More than half of employers in Latvia, or 57 percent, has characterized labor force availability in the Baltic country as poor or very poor, and only four percent has described it as good, according to a survey released on Monday by the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
Asked about the availability of low-skilled labor, 63 percent of respondents in the survey admitted difficulties hiring unskilled workers, while 36 percent said they had not been affected by this issue.
Meanwhile, the survey revealed a more severe shortage of highly qualified personnel in Latvia. In the LCCI survey, 74 percent of the polled entrepreneurs said they had struggled finding high-skilled professionals and only 24 percent said they did not have to deal with such problems.
LCCI board member Katrina Zarina noted that the data directly correlates with a drop of unemployment and rise of job vacancies in Latvia.
"First of all, the labor shortages affect local businesses, but in a broader perspective, they also affect potential foreign investors who are considering starting or expanding a business in Latvia," Zarina said.
According to the LCCI survey, importing workforce from foreign countries is a complicated, time-consuming and expensive process. When hiring abroad, 48 percent of Latvian employers look for mid-level employees and 30 percent seek unskilled labor.
Most often, foreign employees are brought to Latvia from Ukraine, India and China, the survey showed.
The LCCI conducted the survey in October and November, interviewing 257 of its members across Latvia, including microenterprises, SMEs and large companies.
