Prime Minister Vladimir Putin holds a working meeting with Tver Region Governor Dmitry Zelenin
The governor told Mr Putin that industrial output in the region had grown by an estimated 19% from last year and that the unemployment rate had been decreasing. On the other hand, there is still 11-18 million roubles to be paid in wage arrears, which is about one-tenth of the peak amount. Mr Zelenin described the Tver Region’s current economic performance as “quite optimistic,” but said mechanical engineering was lagging behind somewhat.
Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: What is the situation like in your region now, primarily in the economy, on the labour market? How's regional output growing? What social issues are you facing? I'm concerned about possible wage arrears above all.
Dmitry Zelenin: There has been some growth in industrial output - 19% compared with last year. Tax revenues, which serve as an indicator, have also grown by more than 20% since last year. Most enterprises are building up momentum. There are just a few that are still sluggish and have so far failed to get back to the numbers posted in 2008. I believe mechanical engineering has been the hardest hit by the economic downturn. A half to two-thirds of enterprises are now picking up.
The unemployment rate is decreasing. For three consecutive months, the number of openings has been twice as high as the number of job seekers, which shows that there is a demand for labour again. That's definitely good news because a year ago the number of unemployed was twice the number of vacancies.
As for wage arrears, there's still 11-18 million roubles to pay, or one-tenth of the peak amount. And there remain a few insolvent enterprises, with bankruptcy proceedings ongoing. But the issue is under control by and large, and we have almost no new enterprises with wage arrears to meet. There are only some tiny amounts to pay in back wages - several hundred thousands of roubles.
In my assessment, the situation is quite stable. We can now see signs of growth across the Tver Region. Also, several new enterprises have recently begun operating, creating new jobs for the labour market.
Vladimir Putin: Economic recovery is quite patchy, nonetheless. Which sectors do you think are facing more problems than others?
Dmitry Zelenin: Mechanical engineering has the most problems. In the Tver Region, it's a secondary industry, meaning that it assembles tools and machinery from parts supplied by other manufacturers, which is the main reason for the slowdown.
Tver's train carriage plant is in stable condition. But there's still some slowdown compared with the output of 2007 and 2008. Other sectors, such as chemicals and food, are growing. The timber processing industry is also showing signs of growth, but has not yet risen back to the 2007 levels. Timber processing was hit by the crisis even before 2008.
So, as I said, the economy has been showing steady growth and the current performance figures are quite optimistic.
Vladimir Putin: Fine.
