In order to improve the situation on the labor market, the Economics Ministry is also planning measures to help local jobseekers become more active, but these are long-term measures and their effect will not be immediate. That is why the Economics Ministry believes that the immigration policy has to envisage mechanisms to compensate for labor shortages in the main national economy sectors.
The Economics Ministry's draft Cabinet regulation lists those professions where requirements on foreign workers will be eased and employing third-party citizens will take less time and effort. It will also increase availability of qualified specialists to employers in Latvia.
The list includes such professions as processing managers, ICT managers, researchers, physicians and astronomers, mathematicians, statisticians, engineers, construction engineers, physicians, financial analysts, programmers, website and multimedia developers, application developers, database developers and administrators, system administrators, electricians, maritime pilots, aircraft pilots, air controllers, air traffic safety experts, operators of diagnostic equipment, computer network and computer system experts, and others.
According to the Economics Ministry, shortages of labor in these professions may have an impact on the economic growth of Latvia in the near future. The list was collated based on the ministry's medium and long-term labor market projections.
The list will be revised when necessary, taking into consideration changes on the labor market and the Economics Ministry's forecasts.
