Alexander Zhukov's speech:

Good afternoon,

Today, the government of the Russian Federation is holding yet another meeting via video conference to monitor the situation on the labour market. The main purpose of this meeting is to assess the overall conditions of the nationwide labour market and to discuss the challenges that should be addressed under regional programmes stipulating additional measures to reduce tensions on regional labour markets in 2010-2011.

First of all, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that positive trends in the main labour market indices were reinforced in 2010.

Economic growth facilitates the stabilisation of the labour market and the growing incomes of the economically active population, including increases in nominal and real wages at companies of all forms of economic activity. In January-August 2010, nominal wages increased by 11.8%, while real wages increased by 5.1% compared with the same period of last year.

Employment continues to grow in all economic spheres, while the overall level of unemployment declines, which is calculated using ILO methods. The number of people registered as unemployed at employment services continues to decline.

The economically active population has increased by 3.5 million, from 67.7 million in early 2010 to 71.2 million this August. The increase in August totaled 300,000.

The total number of unemployed people dwindled by 1.6 million, that is, from 6.8 million, or 9.2% of the economically active population, in January to 5.2 million in August, or 6.9%.   We have almost reached pre-crisis levels in terms of overall unemployment (5 million, or 6.6% of the economically active population in October 2008).

At the same time, overall unemployment increased somewhat in 16 regions of the country.

The number of people registered as unemployed has declined by almost 640,000, from 2,286,000 in late February to 1,649,000 on September 22. This decline was posted by an absolute majority of the regions.

The tension coefficient in the labour market, or the number of people registered as unemployed per vacancy, has dwindled from 3.1 to 1.5, due to a decline in unemployment levels and the rising employer demand for workers. As of late August, there were 1,257,000 vacancies.

The number of part-time workers, including idle workers, those working part-time on the initiative of the management and those on unpaid leave, has declined by over a million since late February and now totals 627,000. It should also be noted that all categories of part-time workers continue to dwindle.

Esteemed colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

In order to support employment and provide social assistance to unemployed people, the government continues to work jointly with regional authorities in 2010 to take additional measures for easing labour tensions in the regions. In all, 40.5 billion roubles will be allocated from the budget for these additional measures in 2010.

Federal budget subsidies for financing regional programmes have been transferred to all regions in the total amount of 36.1 billion roubles, or 93% of the 38.9 billion roubles stipulated in the federal budget for these programmes.

Under the regional programmes in 2010:

- 945,000 people will take up temporary jobs or be engaged in public works, with total funding of 16.5 billion roubles;

- over 240,000 people will start up their own businesses (88% more than in 2009), with total funding of 14.5 billion roubles;

- 137,000 people will receive early professional training; 7,900 people will receive resettlement assistance for beginning jobs in other cities or villages; over 100,000 high school graduates will have on-site training; jobs will be offered to 11,000 people with disabilities; and 100 air navigators and flight engineers will be trained as pilots.

In 2010, we are focusing on employment assistance in single-industry cities, and above all on 27 single-industry towns that need priority assistance. By now, the allocation of 2.8 billion roubles has been approved for reviewed regional programmes stipulating measures to ease employment tensions in such single-industry cities, which helped provide jobs to 113,000 people.

At the same time, additional measures should also be taken to improve the situation on the labour market in small single-industry towns.

Since the regional programmes had a positive effect on the situation on the labour market in 2009 and 2010, they will be continued in 2011.

However, the focus of these programmes will be changed:

- only the workers of strategic enterprises and the residents of single-industry cities, as well as the unemployed registered with employment services in single-industry cities, will be offered temporary jobs or jobs in public works. The programme is designed for 397,000 people, with federal budget allocations exceeding 7 billion roubles;

- early professional training and on-site training for those threatened with layoffs will only be offered to the workers of the companies that have submitted their development and modernisation programmes, as well as to women working in hazardous and difficult conditions. About 70,000 people are to be involved in this project with allocations of 2.1 billion roubles;

- on-site training will be provided to over 70% of the high school graduates (100,000 people) with potential employment problems, with federal budget funding exceeding 6 billion roubles;

- encouraging unemployed people to pursue self-employment and creating additional jobs for other unemployed people should result in an increase in the number of additional jobs from 20,000 to 68,000. This programme is designed for 120,000 people; federal budget funding is assessed at 11.1 billion roubles;

- measures designed to create jobs for people with disabilities (including by providing special equipment at work places) will also include unemployed people who have children with disabilities and parents of large families; compensation to employers for creating such jobs or for providing additional equipment at work places will be increased from 30,000 to 50,000 roubles. This programme should involve 13,800 people; investment is assessed at 690 million roubles;

- the resettlement programme entails offering employment in neighbouring (border) territories without providing residency assistance (commuting). The number of participants will be 8,000 people; federal budget allocations are estimated at 448 million roubles.

Taken together, about 800,000 people will be involved in these regional programmes in 2011 (compared to 2.3 million in 2009 and 1.2 million in 2010). Federal budget spending on these measures has been estimated at 27.8 billion roubles (43.7 billion roubles in 2009 and 40.5 billion roubles in 2010). These allocations are stipulated in the draft federal budget for 2011 and the planning period of 2012 and 2013.

In addition, the list of powers for the regional authorities in the field of employment assistance is to be expanded; the regional authorities will now be able to offer vocational training, retraining and advanced training to mothers who are on three-year childcare leave. Additional federal budget spending for these purposes has been assessed at 2.9 billion roubles.