In Mongolia, the development of mineral resources in the early 2010s led to rapid economic growth, but such growth has remained sluggish ever since. While the country’s poverty rate temporarily decreased from 38.8 percent in 2010 to 21.6 percent in 2014, the subsequent economic slump caused the rate to rise again to 29.6 percent in 2016 and to remain high, recorded as 27.8 percent in 2020.

In response to this economic stagnation, the Mongolian government has initiated policies to reduce the amount of social welfare expenditure as a percentage of public finances. As a part of this initiative, and in order to promote the policy “Social Assistance to Employment”, the government has tightened the conditions for receiving cash payments for the poor, such as requiring registration with a vocational training mediation agency. However, households and individuals in need who rely on social welfare services for their livelihoods are not immediately able to find jobs even after registering with a vocational training agency. In addition, the system for connecting such people to employment is not fully in place. Under these circumstances, and with the amendment of the Social Welfare Law and the Employment Promotion Law in 2022, the Mongolian government aims to improve the employment support system for households and individuals in need.

On December 28, 2022, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a Record of Discussions with the Government of Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar for a technical cooperation project, “Project to Strengthen Self-Reliance Support System Focusing on Creation of Job Opportunities for People in Need”.

JICA’s project will support the improvement of employment-readiness support services for households and individuals in need in Mongolia and is expected to lead to the self-reliance and social participation of the population that is dependent on social welfare services.