EVALUATION OF EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND SUPPORT FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE UNEMPLOYED IN LATVIA

The unemployment rate in Latvia was continuing to decline in recent years, but it is still high, especially in the regions. In order to improve the existing skills and to master new skills of the unemployed, the European Social Fund's investments are used. The author of the paper is studying the support provided by the European Social Fund to the unemployed for raising their qualifications, which could help them to return to the labour market. The research aim is to investigate the active employment opportunities for unemployed people to take part and how it affects the return of the unemployed to the labour market. The result of the research study shows that the number of training programmes is large and varied. However, it has been concluded that improvements are needed in the implementation of the European Social Fund's co-funding in order to reduce the risk of its misuse

ASSESSMENT OF THE ECONOMIC EFFECTIVENESS OF THE USE OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR TRAINING OF THE UNEMPLOYED

Along with the rapid development of technologies, demand on the labor market changes, still the skills and knowledge of jobseekers do not match the market needs. The State Employment Agency (hereinafter – SEA) implements training measures for the unemployed. Nevertheless, there is a problem that the unemployed involved in training do not always want to enter the labour market, or their knowledge acquired during the training is not useful. The aim of the study is to assess the economic efficiency of the financial resources allocated for training of the unemployed persons in the context of Latvia and its regions. Research methods: monographic method, graphical method, expert survey method, correlation and regression analysis. The authors explore the use of the financial resources allocated for training and analyse its economic efficiency in Latvia and Latvia's regions. It is found that the difference in unemployment rates in the statistical regions of Latvia has significantly increased during the study period. In order to facilitate the reintegration of individuals into the labour market, more funding is provided for training in the regions with higher unemployment rates. The economic efficiency of the use of financial resources varies from region to region, both in terms of the cost of training per unemployed person involved and the number of the trainees employed after the training, and of the funding for training used in the region