| 7 March 2007 A study, conducted upon the request of the Ministry of Welfare, revealed that up to 80,000 persons will leave Latvia by 2010 unless proper steps are taken to curb emigration from the country. This has been just the first study of emigration and labor market problems. It is planned that 13 similar studies will be conducted by June 2007. The findings will look into labor mobility, labor remuneration level, illegal employment rate, and compliance of various educational programs with labor market demands. According to the Ministry of Welfare, after joining the EU in May 2004, some 50,000 persons left the country for the west for better jobs challenges. Out of this number - 23,000 left to Great Britain; 18,000 – to Ireland, and the rest found jobs in Norway, Denmark, Italy, Belgium, and Germany.
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