MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. Unemployment in Russia remains at its record low, with growth of wages still outpacing labor productivity growth, the Central Bank said in a press release following the meeting of the board of directors on the key rate.

"The labor market remains tight. Unemployment is still at its record low. The labor shortage is growing in many industries. Rising wages continue to outpace growth in labor productivity," the regulator said.

The Bank of Russia sharply raised the key rate by 2 percentage points to a record level of 21% per annum at the meeting of the board of directors on Friday. It also did not rule out the possibility of its further increase at the next meeting, saying that further tightening of monetary policy is required to ensure the return of inflation to the target and reduce inflation expectations.