In March the unemployment in Russia reached 4.7%

Rosstat so far summed up the results only for March, when the self-isolation regime has just begun to be introduced - over this month, unemployment rose by 0.1%.

According to Rosstat, the number of unemployed in Russia in March this year amounted to 3.5 million people or 4.7% of the number of able-bodied citizens. Compared to the same period last year, this figure has not changed, and compared with February 2020, it increased by 0.1%, the Kommersant newspaper notes .

The highest unemployment rate in Russia is in rural areas (6.5%), while in cities it is below average (4.1%). Among the regions, the leading republics of the North Caucasus are Ingushetia (26.6%), North Ossetia (14.1) and Dagestan (13.9%). However, many experts say that most of these people worked there according to "gray schemes" as self-employed and in small businesses, and now the self-isolation regime has hit them hardest, which has already led to protests in Vladikavkaz.

As for April, according to the president of the recruiting portal Superjob.ru Alexei Zakharov, in the last week alone, five million new unemployed people have appeared in Russia, especially among those working in small and medium-sized businesses, although not everyone is even aware of this. If the restrictions last another month, their number may increase. According to Alexei Zakharov, unemployment in Russia could soon reach up to 20-25 million people.

According to the director of the My Work employment center, Roman Shkut , the unemployment rate in Moscow increased by 45% since the introduction of the non-working day regime in connection with the situation with coronavirus. At the same time, mass dismissal by companies of their employees has not yet been observed. And according to the forecasts of the head of the Accounts Chamber and former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, the Russian budget this year may require an additional four trillion rubles, and unemployment will grow three times.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin April 17 signed the decree on payments to the unemployed, setting their maximum amount of 12,130 rubles. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about the increase in benefits for job loss after March 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the context of the pandemic in Russia, the registration of disability and registration of the unemployed was simplified, and delay programs for mortgage and consumer loans also began to operate.