Russia has overcome the peak of the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the labor market. On Wednesday, June 17, said the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the country Anton Kotyakov.

“The labor market in the Russian Federation today has passed the peak of the pandemic much better than in a number of countries. We see that according to the results of May, our unemployment rate amounted to 6.1%, while in developed countries such as the United States, it amounted to more than 13%, ”Kotyakov noted.

According to experts, the employment situation in Russia is stabilizing amid a gradual weakening of quarantine measures. The restrictions introduced at the time of the coronavirus pandemic have already been completely abolished in a number of regions, which gave impetus to a decrease in the number of unemployed. About this RT said the vice-president of the all-Russian public organization of small and medium-sized enterprises "Support of Russia" Pavel Sigal. 

“As industries opened up after the self-isolation regime, registered unemployment began to decline moderately. Companies began to restart work and hire more employees. This is especially noticeable in the field of non-food retail. With the opening of non-food stores, Russians began to more actively realize pent-up demand. This allowed employers to expand their staff without fear, ”Seagal explained.

According to the Federal State Statistics Service, back in March the unemployment rate in Russia was 4.7%. Meanwhile, the growth in the indicator over the next two months was relatively restrained, said Georgy Ostapkovich, director of the market research center at the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge, HSE. In his opinion, the measures of state support of the economy approved by the authorities made it possible to prevent an excessive deterioration of the situation in the field of employment.

“In Russia, unemployment rates remain relatively low due to government support for business. We are talking about soft loans for the payment of salaries to employees, direct financial assistance and tax breaks. So, we managed to avoid the American scenario, in which a significant part of the population was unemployed, ”said Ostapkovich.

In addition, the peculiarities of Russian legislation also had a positive impact on the labor market. This was told in an interview with RT by the economist of BCS Premier Anton Pokatovich.

“Dismissal in Russia is not as common practice as in the EU and the USA, and employees are more protected from unlawful loss of place by the conditions of labor legislation. This specificity is in favor of a slower growth rate of Russian unemployment compared to Western countries, ”the expert explained. 

At the same time, the situation with the employment sector was mitigated by the prompt transfer of the majority of Russian companies to remote work, Georgy Ostapkovich believes. According to him, already in the first week of April, more than 80% of Russians began to work at home. As a result, for the most part, employers were able to maintain their working staff and at the same time optimize production costs and rental costs.

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It is noteworthy that maintaining a remote mode of work for some employees after removing all restrictions may become an additional factor for the restoration of the labor market. This point of view in an interview with RT was expressed by Liliya Fedulina, director of market analytics for podelu.ru.

On June 16, the State Duma introduced draft amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which are aimed at regulating remote work. In particular, it is proposed to prescribe the TC three new concepts: permanent remote (remote) work, temporary transfer to remote work and combined employment. 

“During the self-isolation regime, many employers and employees appreciated the benefits of the remote, but did not know how to regulate their relations after quarantine due to the lack of legislative norms. The proposed changes to the Labor Code will protect employees from possible risks associated with the quality of performance of duties. In the future, the popularity of such employment will only grow, which can provide the labor market with faster recovery, ”said Fedulina.

According to her, already in the first half of 2021, the unemployment rate in Russia may drop to 5.1-5.7%, depending on the pace of lifting quarantine restrictions. At the same time, according to Georgy Ostapkovich, over the next two years, the figure may again fall below 5% due to the restoration of consumer demand and the resumption of the services and entertainment sector.