MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/. Young people aged up to 29 account for over 33% of the total number of unemployed in Russia, Minister of Labor and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov said at a meeting of the State Duma (parliament's lower house) Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans' Affairs on Wednesday.

"The share of unemployed young people aged up to 29 is rather high, more than 33% of the total number of unemployed," the minister said.

Freelance, remote work and flexible hours are in demand among young people now, he added. "Fundamentally it is in line with the existing trends on the labor market. However, the growth rates of creative industries are not as high today as young people would like them to be," Kotyakov said.

Total unemployment

The number of officially unemployed in Russia currently stands at 2.1 mln, the minister announced on Wednesday. "To date, 2.1 mln people are registered by our employment centers," he said.

In February, according to the Ministry of Labor, this figure was at the level of 2.4 mln.

The minister added that the peak number of unemployed was seen in August-September 2020 when 3.6 mln were recorded as jobless.

According to the Russian State Statistics Service, in January 2021, 4.3 mln people were registered as unemployed, as calculated based on the methodology of the International Labor Organization.

Earlier, the press service of the Ministry of Labor recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin had set a goal - to bring the labor market back to the 2019 indicators by the end of 2021. The solution to this problem involves placement of 1 mln Russians who are currently unemployed.