Unemployment in the Altai Territory doubled

The number of officially registered unemployed in the Altai Territory doubled. Officials associated the growth of appeals to the employment service with restrictions that were introduced due to the pandemic of coronavirus.

The number of officially registered unemployed in the Altai Territory between January to August 2020, compared to the same period of 2019, increased 2.2 times, said Nadezhda Kapura, head of the Altai Territory Labor and Employment Department.

“About 16 thousand people were registered with us on August 1, 2019, today - 34.8 thousand people. In June, they have grown by more than a thousand, [growth in relation to last year] more than 2.2 times. <...> In total, from the beginning of restrictive events, about 57 thousand citizens for assistance in finding a suitable work turned to us, ”the official explained.

Kapura noted that such growth is associated with restrictions that were introduced due to coronavirus pandemia. Also, according to her, the number of unoccupied citizens was influenced by an increase in unemployment benefits and extension of support measures. The official said that 17 thousand people in the region receive unemployment benefits and child allowance.

At the moment, the head of the service notes that restrictive measures are gradually removed, and state support measures allow to maintain 90–95% of the number of employees, so there were no mass reductions in the region. From March 1, according to Kapura, for various reasons, about 17.5 thousand people were fired. From January to July, 2 thousand people were reduced in all areas of activity in the Altai Territory.

She also clarified that about 4 thousand people work in incomplete employment mode, more than 13 thousand work remotely, and about 1.4 thousand people are in downtime.

Andrey Sagittarius