ANADYR, January 10. /TASS/. Russia’s unemployment rate is currently minimal but the country is experiencing a shortage of high-skilled blue-collar workers, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with residents of Anadyr, Russia’s easternmost town, located near the Bering Sea in the remote Chukotka Autonomous Region in the Russian Far East.

"Our unemployment rate is 2.9%. This has never been the case before in the history of the Russian Federation," the head of state said. At the same time, an important factor to consider is that the country is experiencing "a huge deficit of human resources, first and formost of highly skilled workers," Putin noted.

"We want to resolve it [the highly skilled worker shortage problem] within the framework of the Speciality program together with representatives of the business community who have an interest in tapping into a pool of well-trained personnel," the Russian leader added.