The move will mean eight staff members at the two sites, in the towns of Kiviõli and Sillamäe, will be relocated to other Unemployment Insurance Fund offices.

Local government leaders say they are upset that no negotiations were initiated with them to keep the outlets going, given the main cost issue related to property rental.

The fund's Ida-Viru County operations will be consolidated in Jõhvi and Narva from next year.

Anneki Teelahk, director of the funds' Ida-Viru County department, added further rationale in saying that its aim is for applicants not to limit their job search to what is available locally only.

She said: "Naturally, if there are offices open, people use them. However, our wish is for people to become more mobile. Both municipalities confirmed that people are accustomed to staying in their local area and hoping for a job next door. Fortunately, people do search for, and find, jobs elsewhere."

Lüganuse and Sillamäe leaders presented a different view, however.

Lüganuse mayor Dmitri Dmitrijev said: "Instead of sitting down together, which was our desire, we received a written response stating that the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund see no options for continuing in Kiviõli or Lüganuse municipalities, and must relocated to Jõhvi."

His municipality was even ready to offer free office space to the fund, in Kiviõli, Dmitrijev added.

Dmitrijev's counterpart in Sillamäe, Tõnis Kalberg, said: "A large proportion of people will now have to travel to another municipality for services instead of having an official here locally to provide them."

As of the beginning of this week, 761 people in the city of Sillamäe were registered unemployed. The figure in Lüganuse rural municipality, where Kiviõli is the principal town, was 373.

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