MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. Unemployment in Russia has risen to 5.9%, the government is faced with the task of returning to the pre-pandemic level, Russian President Vladimir Putin during the annual Direct Line on Wednesday.
"Unfortunately, during the pandemic period, during the epidemic, unemployment has grown. Before we started our acquaintance and the fight against COVID-19, the total unemployment rate was 4.6-4.7%. It, unfortunately, has grown to more than 6% at some point. Now about 5.9%, is already going down slowly. The government is faced with the task of reaching the pre-crisis level, that is, by 4.6-4.7% and, thank God, a tendency has emerged in our country, we need to keep it," Putin said.
As of early June, the unemployment rate in Russia was within 5.2%. The head of the Russian Ministry of Labor Anton Kotyakov then reported that by the end of 2021 it would drop to the pre-crisis level of 4.6-4.7%. According to him, it is necessary to provide employment for another 700,000 unemployed to return to pre-pandemic indicators in the Russian labor market. In total, 900,000 workers have been employed since the beginning of 2021.