The Baltic countries, as best they can, are trying to improve their own economic situation. In particular, the same Estonia intends to ease the rules of entry of guest workers, which informs ERR.EE .
EADaily previously also informed about the far from excellent growth rates of Estonian GDP.
Depending on the economic situation, the country's industrial enterprises can employ from 1300 to 2500 workers if their salary is not lower than the average in Estonia. Currently, foreign labor can be brought to Estonia outside the quota, provided that the salary of guest workers will be at least one and a half times higher than the average in Estonia. But the shortage of skilled workers, whose salary would be one and a half to two times higher than the average salary, is becoming more and more clearly felt.
"Locksmiths, chemical engineers, food technologists, builders of wooden and metal structures, whose average salary in Estonia is more than 2,000 euros per month. Of course, we are not talking about mass immigration or attracting cheap labor," explained the country's Minister of Economy and Industry, Erkki Keldo.
If economic growth is rapid and exports increase, more than 1,300 people can be attracted as foreign workers.
"In a normal situation, we are talking about 1000-1300 additional skilled workers. If the economy is doing better, the same export industries need additional labor, then we are talking about 2000-2500 people," Keldo added.
But according to Mihkel Nestor, an economic analyst from Estonia, simplifying the rules for attracting labor alone will not put the Estonian industry on its feet.
"If we look at the manufacturing industry in Estonia as a whole, it is still in decline, and its contribution to employment and the economy as a whole is in a constant downward trend. A slight easing in attracting foreign labor will not greatly affect the overall picture of changes in the industry," the expert said.