The National Statistics Office of Mongolia (NSO) has released its Social and Economic Report for September. The report shows key changes in the economic and social situation of Mongolia that happened in the past month, including decrease in employment, and improvements in infant mortality and under-five mortality rates.

NUMBER OF UNIVERSITY GRADUATES DROP BY 3.3 PERCENT

 According to state administrations, 34,000 students finished ninth grade, 37,500 12th grade students graduated from general educations school, 19,500 students finished technical educational vocational training schools, and 34,700 students graduated from university or college at the end of the academic year 2016-2017. The number of university and college graduates dropped by 3.3 percent, more specifically by 1,200 people, compared to last year, and 53 percent of graduates were women.

SLIGHT INCREASE OBSERVED IN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

 The latest Labor Force Survey reported that 13,003 out of 58,529 job seekers registered since January have managed to find jobs and that 80 more people registered as unemployed during the last month. As of September 31, 34,900 people had registered at labor agencies, 72.6 percent of which, or 25,400 people, were actively searching for jobs while the rest were seeking a new or extra job. Reportedly, 30.2 percent of these registered unemployed people are living in Ulaanbaatar, 20.7 percent in central region, 19.8 percent in Khangai region, 19.1 percent in western region, and 10.2 percent in eastern region. Compared to September 2016, the number of registered unemployed people decreased by 26,600 people (31.3 percent), newly hired people by 2,700 (17.1 percent), and the number of people removed from the Unemployment Registry due to inactivity of job search fell by 18,500 people (25.3 percent). The survey also revealed that 45 percent of the unemployed have high school diploma, 32.5 percent have a higher education certification or a bachelor’s degree, 6.7 percent have a technical or vocational certification, 5.8 percent have received basic education, and 1.3 percent have a master’s or doctorate degree. From the total registered unemployed nationwide, more than half or 60.1 percent account for young people aged between 15 and 34. Unemployment rate is up to 16.9 percentage points higher than the national average in Sukhbaatar, Dornogovi, Govisumber, Tuv, Govi-Altai, Uvs, Dundgovi, Dornod, Khovd, Selenge, Orkhon, Arkhangai and Umnugovi provinces.

 SOCIAL INSURANCE AND WELFARE

The General Authority for Health and Social Insurance of Mongolia reported that the revenue of the social insurance fund amounted to 1.5 trillion MNT in July, up by 17.4 percent compared to last year. The expenditure of the fund reached 1.4 trillion MNT, up by 8.3 percent compared to September 2016. Experts analyzed that the revenue increase was attributed to the increased revenues of pension insurance fund, which rose by 142.6 billion MNT, and health insurance fund, which increased by 45.6 billion MNT. The revenue of social insurance fund has risen by 105.8 billion MNT and social insurance fund expenditure by 74.3 billion MNT compared to the same period of the previous year. The main reason is the 10.1 percent increase in health insurance expenditure, which increased by 18 billion MNT since July. The General Office of Labor and Welfare Service reported that in the first nine months of 2017, pensions and allowances worth nearly 112.8 billion MNT were granted to 234,800 people from the social welfare fund. The number of pensioners has dropped by 15,700, or 6.3 percent, and the amount of pensions and allowances rose by 55 million MNT, or 0.1 percent, compared to the same period of the previous year. Since January, 390,800 people received social welfare services and mitigations and the majority of these people, specifically 66.9 percent, received social welfare incentives and conditioned cash benefits. Children’s cash allowances weren’t distributed in September.

CHILD MORTALITY RATE IMPROVES WHILE FUNGAL AND GONOCOCCAL INFECTIONS INCREASE

As of September, 54,740 mothers gave birth, which indicates a 7.7 percent decrease in childbirth rate compared to last year. Compared to the previous month, 6,139 fewer pregnant women were admitted to the hospital for delivery and the number of children born decreased by 2.1 percent, specifically by 132 babies. Infant mortality and under-five mortality rates have decreased by 27.8 percent and 27.8 percent respectively in the first nine months of 2017. In particular, infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births reached 14, four newborns fewer than last year, and under-five mortality was recorded to be 17, which is five children less compared to last year. Statistics show that the number of childbirths in September has been decreasing in recent years. According to statistics, 61,674 babies were born in September 2014, 60,849 babies in September 2015, 59,320 babies in September 2016, and 54,740 babies in September 2017. Over 33,800 cases of communicable disease were reported as of September, which is 25,776 cases, or 43.2 percent, lower compared to September 2016. However, the number of people affected by chicken pox reached 3,335 (up 78.4 percent), patients suffering from dysentery reached 745 (up 34.7 percent), patients with fungal infections reached 177 (up 19.2 percent), and patients with gonococcal infection reached 174 (up 5.6 percent).