In December 2020, the unemployment rate in Russia dropped to 5.9%.
On Thursday, January 29, the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the country Anton Kotyakov announced this at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin with members of the government.
As the head of the Ministry of Labor noted, from August to December, the total number of unemployed Russians dropped from 4.8 million to 4.4 million.
Thus, according to the minister, "the situation on the labor market is gradually stabilizing."
“In the employment center, we also record a decrease in the number of officially registered unemployed.
To date, about 2.56 million people are registered.
Again, let me remind you that this indicator was the highest in September, and it exceeded the value of 3.7 million people, ”Kotyakov added.
According to Rosstat, in 2020, against the background of the introduction of quarantine measures in the spring and the temporary suspension of the work of a number of companies, unemployment in the country from March to August increased from 4.7% to 6.4%.
The value was the highest since 2012.
However, by the end of September, the indicator dropped to 6.3%, and in November it reached 6.1%.
According to Anton Kotyakov, the recovery of the employment sector is largely due to the weakening of quarantine restrictions, as well as the adaptation of companies to the changing epidemiological situation.
In addition, the labor market was supported by financial measures of state support for business: soft loans to pay salaries to employees, reduction in insurance premiums, and tax holidays for companies from affected industries.
“Of course, the measures already taken to promote employment influence the decrease in the number of unemployed.
In particular, we are talking about the successful employment of citizens after retraining, ”the minister said.
As Kotyakov emphasized, in order to return the Russian labor market to pre-crisis levels, the country's authorities need to provide jobs for another 1 million citizens.
21 billion rubles have been allocated for measures to restore employment in regional programs, the head of the Ministry of Labor said.
In particular, the authorities propose to allocate subsidies in the amount of three minimum wages (minimum wages) to employers for the employment of citizens who were registered at employment centers before January 1, 2021.
According to the calculations of the Ministry of Labor, the measure will provide jobs for over 220 thousand Russians.
The provision of additional subsidies and other financial assistance to business will not only speed up the recovery of employment, but also stimulate business activity in the country.
This point of view, in an interview with RT, was expressed by Georgy Ostapkovich, director of the Center for Market Research at the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge at the Higher School of Economics.
“In fact, the state gives money to enterprises for the maintenance of employees.
And since part of the salary can be provided by the employer himself, the initiatives of the authorities can spur the growth of real disposable incomes of the population.
As a result, consumer demand will increase, and this will already stimulate production.
As a result, enterprises will pay more taxes, and at the same time labor productivity will increase, ”Ostapkovich explained.
In addition, business subsidy programs reduce the level of shadow employment in Russia and also contribute to an overall decrease in unemployment.
Anastasia Uskova, general director of the Rocket Work platform, told RT about this.
“Those who only yesterday received their salaries in an envelope are now officially employed by companies in order to qualify for a larger amount of subsidies,” the expert explained.
At the same time, as Uskova emphasized, the received subsidies from the company should be directed not only to pay salaries to employees, but also to modernize and increase the efficiency of production, as well as to search for new sales markets for their products.
Such a policy will create additional jobs, the specialist is sure.
Labor incentives
According to experts, the growth in the number of self-employed in Russia may also have a positive impact on the Russian labor market.
According to the latest data from the Federal Tax Service (FTS), in December 2020, about 1.5 million Russians already had this status.
At the same time, more than 5 thousand people are registered as self-employed in the country every day.
“Self-employed status is suitable not only for those who want to start their own business without unnecessary administrative barriers and fees, but also for those who are looking for a job.
Such employees are much cheaper for businesses due to the absence of mandatory insurance premiums and a low tax rate, therefore, in a difficult period for enterprises, the demand for self-employed employees continues to grow, ”explained Anastasia Uskova.
© RIA Novosti / Vladimir Vyatkin
According to Georgy Ostapkovich, mass vaccination of the population against COVID-19 can play a role in reducing unemployment in Russia.
Thus, weakening the coronavirus pandemic will reduce uncertainty in the labor market, as a result of which the rate of hiring new employees will accelerate.
“Our part of the population is in cognitive dissonance due to the pandemic.
People experience stress, fear for themselves and their families.
Under these conditions, general uncertainty grew.
Now we have a general vaccination, and naturally, people are freed from the shackles of this stress, and their productivity increases.
It will increase even more if this year we achieve 60% or 70% of vaccinations.
This will create comfortable conditions, reduce uncertainty, and as a result, the unemployment rate will drop, ”the expert explained.
According to him, by the end of 2021, unemployment in Russia could drop to 5%. At the same time, the full output of the employment sector to pre-crisis indicators will occur in the first half of 2022, Ostapkovich believes.