MOSCOW, July 10. /TASS/. The number of employed people in Russia increased by 2.7 mln people compared to the pre-pandemic period, Russian Minister of Labor and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov said.

"Since 2019, since the pre-pandemic period, the number of people employed in Russia has increased by 2.7 mln people," he said at a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with the government.

Kotyakov added that at the end of May, the number of employed Russians increased by 100,000 people to 74.1 mln.

In turn, Putin said that unemployment in Russia remains at historically low levels, while the number of employed people continues to grow, reaching 74.1 mln. "Compared to last year - last year there were 73.4 mln employed - this year there are already 74.1 mln employed," he said, adding, "There are more than 2 mln open vacancies and unemployment is at a historically low level of 2.6%."

According to the Russian State Statistics Service (Rosstat), record low unemployment rates have persisted for the second month. Only 2 mln people aged 15 and over in the entire country could be classified as unemployed according to international methodology.