Unemployment benefits will not be calculated based on the average national salary, but on the average salary previously earned by the beneficiary, according to a Government decision, Info-Prim Neo reports. Deputy Labor Minister Sergiu Sainciuc said the measure was aimed at adjusting the existing normative framework to employment and social security standards. Effective from July 1, unemployment benefits are calculated based on the beneficiary's average salary and they shall not be smaller than the average national salary and not greater than the average national salary for the previous year. Sergiu Sainciuc said that a study conducted by the Labor Ministry revealed an abnormal situation where some beneficiaries received a greater unemployment benefit than the salaries they earned in the last workplace. In those circumstances, beneficiaries were not interested in finding a job. The Ministry estimated that the new calculation methodology will save over one million lei in half a year. The saved money will be used for training job seekers and informing them on job opportunities.