Unemployment rose in Russia for the first time since March

In October, for the first time in the past seven months, an increase in unemployment was recorded in Russia, Interfax reports, citing Rosstat data.

The number of unemployed in Russia in October increased by 85,000 people compared to September, to 4,103,000 people, or 5.4 percent of the economically active population. In September and August, this figure was 5.2 percent.

The previous time in 2016, the growth of unemployment in Russia, Rosstat recorded in March. At that time, unemployment was 5.9 percent of the economically active population, having increased by 0.1 percent compared to the previous month.

Rosstat also recorded a 5.9 percent decline in real disposable money incomes of Russian residents in October compared to the previous month. In general, in January-October 2016, the income of the population in real terms decreased by 5.3 percent compared to the same period in 2015.

The gross domestic product (GDP) of Russia in January-October, according to preliminary estimates of Rosstat, decreased by 0.7 percent. The Ministry of Economic Development, in earlier forecasts, expects a decline in GDP by 0.6 percent at the end of 2016.

• Rosstat publishes data on the so-called general unemployment. Such data are obtained by surveying the population, in accordance with the methodology of the International Labor Organization (ILO). If the respondent during the survey says that he has no job and income, and he is ready to start work tomorrow, he is classified as unemployed.
• Officially in Russia, about 800,000 people were registered with the employment service, according to Rosstat data for October, 700,000 of them received unemployment benefits.
• Real disposable income is income minus mandatory payments, adjusted for the consumer price index.