MOSCOW, January 28. /TASS/. The number of unemployed Russians is expected to decline by 100,000 this year, to 3.8 million, the Russian Labor Ministry said in a fact sheet prepared on a request from TASS on the occasion of the International Unemployment Day.
The International Unemployment Day is marked on January 28 to draw attention to the unemployment problem worldwide.
"According to preliminary results of a sampling survey of the workforce, conducted by [the state-run statistics service] Rosstat, 3.9 million people, or 5.1% people of the working age were classed as unemployed in line with the International Labor Organization’s methodology," the Labor Ministry said.
The ministry expects the number to drop to 3.8 million people this year, while unemployment is projected to decline to five percent.
Currently, a total of 747,000 people are officially registered as unemployed in Russia. They receive monthly unemployment benefits of between 950 rubles ($17) and 4,900 rubles ($87).
As of January 17, 2018, a total of 1.4 million job offers have been placed by employers with Russian employment offices.
Russian employment offices also assist the unemployed in professional training, additional education or career guidance. All those services are free of charge. In addition, employment offices are also authorized to render financial assistance to self-employed persons, farmers and self-employed entrepreneurs.
Russians officially registered as unemployed and their family members can also apply for assistance in moving to another region where they are more likely to find a job.
In 2017, jobs were found for almost 90,000 people with disabilities, up 33,000 since last year.