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Unemployment in Russia will drop to 4.6-4.7% by end of 2021 — Labor Minister

Overall unemployment in Russia is now holding at 5.2%

ST. PETERSBURG, June 3. /TASS/. Overall unemployment in Russia is now holding at 5.2%, by the end of 2021 it will drop to 4.6-4.7%, which is the pre-crisis level of 2019, Labor and Social Protection Minister Anton Kotyakov said in an interview with TASS at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday.

"Now we have 5.2%, if we enter 4.6-4.7%, as it was in 2019, this is a good indicator, provided that inside 4.6-4.7% [there is] a minimum number of people, who have been out of job for a long time. We set the end of 2021 as the target date for ourselves," he said.

Kotyakov noted that today economists worldwide argue about what can be regarded as the optimal level of unemployment.

"In many ways, everyone agrees that a level below 5% is a level that is acceptable for a stable economic system," he stressed.

The minister also said that the labor market in Russia will be fully restored to pre-crisis indicators by the end of this year.

"We see that we are moving at a faster pace than we originally planned. In 20 regions of Russia, the labor market has already fully recovered. That means that it has already reached the level of 2019. In 32 regions, the labor market fluctuates in the range of 98-99% of the indicators of 2019, so the situation is quite stable in 52 regions," he said.

"Achieving this indicator is the task set by the President - we will meet the pre-pandemic values in the labor market by the end of 2021," Kotyakov said.

The minister noted that in 12 regions the labor market is recovering slowly.

"We have made programs for recovery of labor market for each region. We are now working with them and we understand that we have to adjust the program for these 12 troubled regions - to add some instruments," he said.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, organized by the Roscongress Foundation, is held on June 2-5. This year SPIEF’s motto will be "Together Again - Economy of New Reality". The event will also include forums for the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME), Healthy Life, Drug Safety as well as SPIEF Junior, Inner courtyard Penal discussion. SPIEF-2021 is held in a face-to-face format with all anti-coronavirus measures observed. TASS is the official photo hosting agency and information partner of the event.

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