The Russian government will allocate more than 4 billion rubles to create temporary jobs. On Thursday, July 2, said Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. According to him, the authorities will send funds to the regions for a partial reimbursement of staff costs.

“Citizens who applied to employment services, as well as unemployed, will be offered employment in construction, agriculture or transport, housing and public utilities, landscaping, and social services for caring for older people,” Mishustin said at a cabinet meeting.

In addition, additional temporary work is organized for employees whose enterprises have switched to part-time employment. As the head of government noted, the proposed measures will allow temporary employment of more than 80 thousand people.

The decision of the authorities will provide an opportunity for Russians to lose their jobs due to a pandemic to save income and continue to provide for themselves when looking for a new permanent job. Georgy Ostapkovich, director of the market research center at the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge, HSE, spoke about this in an interview with RT.

“This is a positive signal that the government continues to actively allocate money to support the economy. Now for the authorities, the main guideline is not even the growth of GDP, but the preservation of jobs and real disposable incomes of citizens. In this regard, any such assistance should accelerate the stabilization of the Russian labor market, ”Ostapkovich explained.

Moreover, providing wages for citizens who have lost their jobs should stimulate consumer demand in the regions, said Pavel Sigal, vice president of the All-Russian public organization of small and medium-sized enterprises “Support of Russia”. At the same time, according to him, temporary jobs will appear in those industries that today most need labor resources.

“The areas in which jobs will be created are not chosen randomly. Construction is now in desperate need of hands - the government decree on preferential mortgages at 6.5% affected. Families have a need for housing, and builders still need to build it. The housing sector is now actively working to prepare for the heating season. The agro-industrial complex is also experiencing a need for employees - it is necessary to produce more food because part of the supplies from abroad has stopped, ”said Pavel Sigal in a conversation with RT.

Recall that in March the unemployment rate in Russia was about 4.7%, however, in May it rose to 6.1%. Meanwhile, in June, as the restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic loosened, the growth in the number of unemployed in the country slowed by more than a third, while the hiring process accelerated. This was announced on June 29 at a government meeting by Russian Minister of Labor and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov.

“According to the information received, from the end of March to date 3 million 718 thousand of our citizens have been laid off in Russia, and 3 million 36 thousand citizens have been hired, the difference is 682 thousand people. In recent weeks, the recruitment of employees has intensified, now nearly 300 thousand people are hired weekly, ”the minister said.

  • Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin holds a meeting with members of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Russian Federation via video conferencing
  • RIA News
  • © Dmitry Astakhov

In addition to creating additional temporary jobs, authorities previously approved several measures to support the labor market. For example, on June 1, a preferential lending program was launched at 2% per annum for companies in sectors of the economy affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The business should send the received money to staff salaries at the rate of one minimum wage (12 130 rubles) per employee.

The loan provided to companies is 85% secured by state guarantees. The loan itself can be partially or completely written off if employers retain jobs. At the same time, on June 23, President Vladimir Putin announced an expansion of the program in an appeal to the Russians.

“The measure is in demand, applications from 90 thousand companies, where 2 million 400 thousand employees work, have already been approved. But demand, as we see, turned out to be much higher than the government had originally planned. Therefore, I propose to expand this support measure, this program, to allocate another 100 billion rubles for its implementation, thus additionally supporting enterprises and their workers at the stage of breaking the restriction regime and thereby accelerate the recovery of the economy and employment, ”the president said.

In addition, accelerated recovery of the labor market was ensured by direct payments from the state to system-forming enterprises, as well as to small and medium-sized businesses. About this RT said the chief analyst of TeleTrade Group of Companies Peter Pushkaryov.

“Indeed, now it is necessary to directly subsidize at least systemically important private enterprises, as well as small and medium-sized businesses. This will allow directly preserving jobs that will provide people with long-term earnings and no longer at the expense of the state, ”Pushkaryov concluded.