Sona Harutyunyan, Director of the RoA State Employment Agency, reported today that as of August 1 the unemployment figure for Armenia stands at 7%, a 0.7 % rise from the start of the year. There are 101,000 registered individuals now seeking work in the country, of which more than 84,000 are officially registered as unemployed. Women make up 71% of the unemployed and men 29%. 14% of those registered as unemployed have a higher education degree. Director Harutyunyan confessed that her agency's unemployment figure doesn't correspond to the real figure which, in 2006, was pegged at 26.6%. This was the figure arrived at with the assistance of the World Bank, using United Nations methodology. She stated that her agency had started a number of professional training courses for those interested at that 700 individuals had applied to date. Director Harutyunyan stated that many young professionals remain unemployed since they lack proper work experience and that this poses a real risk to the Armenian economy. Many employers are wary of employing those with little or no work experience.