Norwegian Minister asks those without state benefits to ‘get a grip’

Minister of Trade and Industry Monica Mæland ( Conservative Party ) jobs Finnmark LabourMinister of the Interior, Monica Mæland ( Conservative Party ).Photo: Hans Jørgen Brun,regjeringen.no

Norwegian Minister, Monica Mæland, encouraged long-term unemployed to ‘get out and take action’, as many enter the new year without state benefits.

‘It’s their responsibility to be active when they seek jobs. It is important that people are flexible to move, both geographically and across industries’, said Mæland to VG newspaper.

Over 40,000 jobs in the oil and gas industry have been lost since the beginning of 2014. After two years, individuals lose eligibility for unemployment benefits, and the next option for many becomes ‘social assistance’.

‘The unemployment benefit period is limited. Unfortunately, some (indeed, most people) will experience this end as difficult. Then you have to get out and take action’, said the Minister of Industry.

According to estimates from the Ministry of Finance, the public will get 1.3 billion extra when about 4,000 people move from being unemployed to in-work.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today