NOVO-OGARYOVO, April 11. /TASS/. Unemployment in Russia is at an all-time low but at the same time here is a shortage of workers in many areas, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on economic issues on Tuesday.

"One of the key issues today is overcoming the shortage of personnel. We have been talking about this all the time lately. Amid all the difficulties of the past year, domestic enterprises avoided mass layoffs of employees, retained their teams. Now the situation is fundamentally different. Taking into account the all-time low level of unemployment - in general it is 3.5% across the country - there are simply not enough workers in many areas," he stated.

According to the head of state, three main tasks need to be solved in this area. The first is to use the personnel potential of the regions and settlements where the unemployment rate is still high. "And we have such regions as well," Putin said.

The second task is to actively apply lean production and automation technologies in all sectors of the economy and in the social sector.

"As a result, additional internal personnel reserves can be used," the President said.

The third task is to increase investments in the training of specialists in the most important and in-demand professions. In particular, engineering schools will be developed, new university campuses will be built, and funding for the Priority 2030 program will be increased.

"However, all these are long-term projects. And today it is especially important to support short-term programs, because it is important and needs to be done right now. As part of these programs, one can already acquire new knowledge and skills, change their occupations," the head of state said.