Putin: Russia’s unemployment stable, at lowest of 3.9%

MOSCOW, Nov 8 (PRIME) -- The Russian labor market is stable, and unemployment is at its bottom of 3.9%, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday during a government session.

“The current situation on the labor market is stable. Unemployment is at its lowest of 3.9%,” he said.

In nominal terms, the average monthly wage grew by 12.7% in January–August. But growth of real wages, or wages adjusted to inflation fell by 1.2% on the year in August. The government should ensure that wage growth exceeds the price growth as inflation slows down, he said.

The government also has to think about incomes of families with children by expanding support and making it more efficient. The main goal is to eliminate the threat of families with many children becoming destitute. The authorities have to create conditions for the families to raise their incomes, including through skill improvement, he said.

Labor and Social Protection Minister Anton Kotyakov said that Russian wages will grow in 2022 and outperform inflation in 2023. The federal budget encompasses growth of the minimum monthly wage and the subsistence level above inflation on January 1, he said.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that the government has already earmarked spending on support of families and other social obligations in the 2023–2025 budget, while Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said that compliance with the social obligations was a priority while drafting of Russia’s federal budget.

Kotyakov also said that the government will introduce a unified monthly benefit for all families with children starting from 2023, while Golikova said that spending on the benefit would stand at 1.6 trillion rubles per year.

(61.2367 rubles – U.S. $1)

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