* Cubans allowed to have more than one job
* Move seeks to stimulate productivity, increase income
By Marc Frank
HAVANA, June 29 (Reuters) - Cuba has lifted restrictions on workers holding more than one job and on students working part time as part of President Raul Castro's effort to boost the island's ailing economy.
The labor reforms were aimed at "stimulating the productive forces and opening up the possibility of increased income, as well as contributing to making work the main source of satisfying material and spiritual needs," according to an official statement carried by state media on Monday.
In addition to having a primary state job, Cubans will now be allowed to hold a second, the statement said without elaborating, and students could also work if it does not affect their studies.
The jobs would presumably be in the state sector, as private employment is severely limited.
The changes come as Cuba is going through a severe financial crisis that has cut its ability to import supplies to keep some factories and work places open.
The decree, announced by state media, seemed to aim at cutting some of the red tape surrounding employment. But local analysts said it was unclear exactly how it would impact productivity in the current economic environment.
Cuba claims an unemployment rate of 1.6 percent but admits tens of thousands of citizens are not seeking work and are therefore not included in the statistics.
Many Cubans balk at working for the state, which controls more than 90 percent of the economy and all services, due to the meager wages and the existence of free or subsidized services, utilities and a food ration.
Many young people, especially in the capital, express little interest in state jobs. Such jobs, on average, pay the equivalent of $20 per month at the official exchange rate.
Many prefer to engage in various black market activities, which include a wide variety of informal crafts, trades and services.
Raul Castro officially took over from his ailing brother Fidel last year and quickly lifted caps on state wages. He also replaced a collective wage system with one based on piecework.
He pledged to shake up Communist Cuba's sluggish bureaucracy and improve production and efficiency.
The younger Castro said egalitarianism had encouraged sloth, which was hurting Cuba's economy, and he promised to pay those who worked more and cut the subsidies of those who didn't. (Editing by Jeff Franks and Dan Grebler)