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Presenting the study today, OECD experts emphasized that Latvia's population had decreased about 25% during the past 25 years. The study finds that only about 16% of residents who have emigrated from Latvia are planning to return in the next five years. In other words, the majority of emigrants do not intend to come back.

Migrants will not be returning until they have a serious reason to do so, explained the experts, adding that most emigrants had left Latvia primarily because of economic considerations. Therefore the economic stimuli should help motivate Latvians abroad to return home.

According to the OECD experts, salaries is one such important stimulus. That is why Latvia should be working on not just increasing productivity, but also salaries, and measures must also be taken to reduce long-term unemployment.

For Latvia, accession to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is not only a foreign policy goal; the accession process is also helpful for development and implementation of policies, Latvian Welfare Minister Janis Reirs (Unity) said.

Speaking at the presentation of the OECD review of Latvia’s social policies, he said that the pre-accession process was close to completion and the welfare chapter had been ”successfully concluded”.

Changes in the economic situation and their effects on social aspects, population decline and the related potential challenges, increase of labor force productivity and strengthening of social policy will remain in the focus of the Latvian government, the welfare minister said.

Latvia has made progress in implementation of a number of the OECD recommendations, including as regards the minimum wage, while the review was still being prepared, the welfare minister said.

In addition, several programs were launched last year to improve productivity and to develop an inclusive labor market, and the State Employment Agency started offering new services, Reirs said.

Comparatively high income inequality and high tax burden on low-wage earners remain major challenges to Latvia but these problems will be tackled, the welfare minister said.

The OECD review will be useful not only in development of employment and social policies but also for the policy makers in other sectors, he said, adding that the OECD membership would give Latvia broad opportunities to learn from experience of other countries.