Reshetnikov called abnormally low unemployment a brake on the economy

The anomalously low unemployment rate currently observed in Russia has become a brake on the country’s economy, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said at the forum of regional social innovations.

“The main problem is the human resource. This is also reflected in the extremely low unemployment rate: 3% is still abnormal for us. This is definitely a brake on the development of the economy, and not some kind of plus, – leads his words “Interfax”.

The consequences of unemployment are already visible in the accelerated growth of wages, which cannot be a positive factor against the background of a qualitative and quantitative shortage of specialists, the minister stressed. It is human capital, and not investment or technology, that is now the most scarce resource for Russia, Reshetnikov added.

“This is a very serious system call,” he said.

To solve this problem, it is necessary to attract more actively labor migrants from other countries, include more enterprises in the national project to increase labor productivity, and also introduce AI into production processes, the minister believes.

As Vedomosti wrote earlier, the unemployment rate in July this year again updated the record and amounted to 3% – this is the lowest figure in the entire history of observations since 1991. The previous minimum (3.1%) was recorded a month earlier. The average salary from January to June 2023 in real terms (adjusted for inflation) increased by 6.9% year-on-year.

According to experts, this situation is associated with a shortage of personnel resulting from the outflow of specialists abroad, the growth of certain industries due to the development of import substitution and demographic problems.

In August, the office of Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova reported that the number of unemployed was 493,000, which is 71,000 less than at the beginning of 2023. At the same time, according to the Jobs of Russia portal, the number of vacancies increased by almost 222 000, exceeding 1.8 million. In May, Golikova said that the government, in conditions of low unemployment, is working to provide enterprises with personnel.