“I assess the situation as serious enough for the Russian labor market. But I do not call it catastrophic ... To date, the figure is higher in the number of registered unemployed, it has reached 1.6 million people, ”RIA Novosti quoted Kotyakov as saying.
According to him, the Ministry of Labor “in different scenario conditions” considered different situations.
“Taking into account the forecast data that we see, we understand that in May-June the number of unemployed will increase,” he added.
Kotyakov noted that registered unemployment in the country at the end of 2019 and at the beginning of 2020 varied at the level of 700-800 thousand people, and a number of factors influence the current situation in the country, including simplification of the registration procedure in employment centers and an increase in the maximum allowance for unemployment to the level of the minimum wage.
“According to our assessment, we are moving according to the scenario ... 2.5 million registered unemployed,” he said.
According to the minister, for Russia this is a small number, "taking into account the analysis of the experience of other countries where the unemployment rate is higher."
“I don’t see the prerequisites for a social explosion, there is a certain tension expressed in the discontent of citizens regarding quarantine measures, the need to stay at home, but we see stabilization in terms of the number of infected people,” he added.
On May 13, Kotyakov noted that the number of unemployed in Russia reached 1.4 million, but the situation is not threatening the labor market.