Transcript of Alexander Zhukov's speech:

Ladies and gentlemen, today we have a regular on-the-spot meeting of the Russian government to monitor the situation in the labour market. The main purpose of this meeting is to assess the overall state of the labour market in the Russian Federation, including in the Volga Federal District, and discuss other issues that must be resolved through regional programmes that constitute additional measures designed to decrease the strain on regional labour markets in 2010.

First of all, I'd like to draw your attention to the confluence of positive trends in key labour market indicators.

From the beginning of the year through April, the number of the employed increased from 67.7 million to 68.9 million people, or by 1.2 million. It went up by 623,000 people in April alone.

The total number of unemployed decreased by 700,000 over the same period, from 6.8 million (9.2% of the economically active population) in January to 6.1 million (8.2% of the economically active population) in April. It decreased by almost 300,000 people in April alone.

This is primarily linked with the overall improvement in the economic situation (GDP increased 2.9% and the industrial production index by 6.9% compared to the same period in 2009). Seasonal factors also played a role.

Employment and unemployment levels in the Volga Federal District are almost identical to the national average, although there is substantial variation among the various regions in the district, ranging from 5.7% in Mordovia to 11.7% in Mary El (according to data from February to April).

The number of registered unemployed began to decrease beginning at the end of February - from 2,286,000 to 2,046,000 as of May 26 of this year, or by a total of 240,000 people. Importantly, the reduction in the number of registered unemployed has taken place in the absolute majority of regions.

The number of registered unemployed, 388,800, exceeds the national average of 2.8% in six out of the 14 regions in the Volga Federal District. Since the beginning of the year, the highest level of unemployment was registered in the Republic of Tatarstan (between 2.8% to 3.4%) and the Chuvash Republic (between 3.1% to 3.6%). The lowest was in the Penza Region (1.6%).

Since the beginning of the year we have seen a downward trend in the labour market stress coefficient (the number of persons registered as unemployed for each job opening), which decreased from 3.2 to 2.0 due to falling unemployment and the growing demand for employees (as of May 26, the number of job openings reached 1.3 million people). In the majority of the regions in the Volga Federal District, labour market stress coefficient is still above the national average.

There has been a continual though not very significant increase in the proportion of displaced workers who have found employment (as of May 26, this figure reached 30.4). The total number of underemployed workers (workers who have insufficient work due to the fault of their employer, workers who work part-time at their employer's request and workers who were granted leaves of absence at their employer's request) has decreased considerably since late February (by more than 700,000 people), and now amounts to 922,500 people. It is also worth noting that this decrease is occurring in all industries.

Although average underemployment figures for the Volga Federal District are only slightly above the national average, there are serious grounds for concern in the following regions: the Chuvash Republic (23% of average number of workers), the Kirov Region (10.3%) and the Perm Territory (9.6%).

Ladies and gentlemen, in order to keep up employment and provide social support for the unemployed, the government will work with the regions to continue the additional programmes designed to reduce the strain on regional labour markets in 2010. All in all, 40.5 billion roubles have been set aside in the budget for additional support for the labour market in 2010.

Federal budget subsidies worth a total of 13.3 billion roubles (or 40% of all subsidies) have been distributed to the regions for the first stage of their programmes. Sixty-three regions that have spent 50% of the funds for the first stage of the programmes have been sent a total of 16.1 billion roubles for the second stage.

All in all, the government has distributed 29.4 billion roubles from the federal budget for the implementation of regional programmes, in accordance with existing agreements. This amounts to 83% of the total federal budget appropriations for regional programmes.

In 2010 the regions signed agreements worth 19.7 billion roubles intended to assist 970,000 people through additional measures intended to decrease the strain on regional labour markets. About 836,000 people were actually involved in these measures (66% of participants in regional programmes).

The regions are actively carrying out their programmes supporting employment in single-industry cities and other municipalities. From January to April, they signed a total of three billion roubles worth of agreements with 4,787 organisations. Almost 170,000 people are already taking part in these measures.

The following regions of the Volga Federal District have been the most active in implementing regional programmes: the Republic of Tatarstan (more than 146,000 people) the Samara Region (40,000 people), the Kirov Region (28,000 people) and the Chuvash Republic (25,000 people).

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Ladies and gentlemen, the regional programmes have been in place for more than a year now and have proven to be effective. At the same time, 2011 is not far off, and we should work together to think of new ways to more effectively improve the situation in regional labour markets within the limits of a reasonable budget. Now proposals are being worked out to determine the conceptual framework for the regional programmes in 2011.

We can tentatively say that measures implemented in 2010 will be partially modified next year, and the categories of participants will be made more specific. Thus, in addition to the measures providing preventive vocational retraining and career enhancement, there are proposals to add the possibility of giving workers on-the-job training, so they can learn new professional skills and areas of expertise at production facilities that use advanced manufacturing technology. Preventive vocational retraining will be offered to workers at production facilities undergoing restructuring and modernisation.

Moreover, regional programmes will also give women who work in difficult or hazardous conditions an opportunity to receive preventive vocational retraining that will allow them to leave the bad working environment.

In addition, in 2011 employers will receive partial reimbursement for the expenses of paying continued average wages or stipends to workers who are absent from work to receive preventive vocational retraining. This reimbursement will equal the minimum wage.

The regional programmes will also provide public works and temporary jobs for workers in single-industry enterprises, as well as the unemployed who are registered as having worked in single-industry municipalities.

There are also plans to incorporate employment assistance to parents of children with disabilities and parents with many children into the measures providing employment assistance for the disabled, which will include reimbursement to the employer for costs incurred while creating or equipping workplaces.

Other aspects of the regional programmes will remain unchanged.