Russia’s labor market back to pre-pandemic level

Russia’s labor market has generally regained pre-pandemic indices, Russian Minister of Labor and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov said on Thursday on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

"Russia’s Federal State Statistics Service released the latest data just yesterday. As of August 1, the country’s labor market returned to the pre-pandemic level in general," he said.

According to Kotyakov, the current unemployment rate in Russia is 4.5%, whereas it was 4.6-4.7% last year.

Around 2.8-3 million people in Russia continue to work from home, Kotyakov said.

"As of today, when the labor market has revived and most of restrictions have been lifted, some 2.8-3 million people continue to work from home," he told a session on Russia’s labor market of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

According to the minister, only 30,000 Russians worked from home before the pandemic and some five to six million people, or up to 11% of the working-age population, worked remotely amid coronavirus lockdowns. Many, in his words, have opted to continue to work from home after many of the restrictions were lifted. So, he said, this tendency will influence the labor market in the future.

The number of self-employed in Russia is expected to reach ten to eleven million by 2030, Kotyakov said.

"According to our forecasts, the number of self-employed in various spheres will reach 10-11 million," he said at a session on issues of the Russian labor market at the Eastern Economic Forum.