Putin orders full recovery of Russia’s labour market in 2021

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered officials to fully restore the country’s labour market, hit by the coronavirus crisis and economic shutdowns, in 2021.

During a federal budget meeting, Putin said around 3 million people were registered as unemployed, which he called a high figure. This week the government said the unemployment rate was seen increasing in June to 6.3%.

So far, the government has used measures such as tax deferrals for businesses and cheap loans for small- and medium-sized companies as a way to prop up the struggling labour market. It was not immediately clear what additional measures might be used to help a recovery.

“The task of fully restoring the labour market should be fulfilled in 2021,” Putin said.