Unemployment in Armenia rose to 7.1% in 2009 and the number of those seeking employment reached 99,308 individuals, this according to Shamam Harutyunyan, head of the State Employment Service. Unemployment was pegged at 6.3% in 2008. Mr. Harutyunyan said that about 25% of those unemployed today in the country are young people. . He stated that some 33,300 individuals had received eligibility for unemployment benefits.