Around 200 jobseekers come to the Podolsk Employment Centre every day. In 2008, out of 8,728 customers, 2,499 were provided with jobs, 241 received a new professional training. In 2009, 46 found jobs while 95 were retrained. 

Now that the labour market is going through tough times, many employment services have switched to a more flexible schedule. Hot lines are open seven days a week, and new information and consultation centres are being set up for jobseekers.

The Podolsk Employment Centre is permanently monitoring the situation in the labour market, starting from the first or repeated registration of the applicants up to their eventual employment. On a par with conventional forms - employment, retraining, and professional education of the unemployed - the centre keeps in close touch with employers, which helps it promptly learn about the latest vacancies.

* * *

When Mr Putin talked with the centre's customers, one of the jobseekers there, a woman who used to head a department in the Moscow Commercial Bank, complained that it will take her a month to get registered as unemployed. "There are crowds here, and we are sitting in a queue for two or three hours," she said.

"This is wrong. We have agreed that waiting in a queue should not exceed 30 minutes. People should not get stuck for hours, and it does not cost too much money to achieve that," Mr Putin replied.

* * *

One of the Premier's interlocutors introduced himself as Vladimir.

Below is the transcript of their conversation:

Vladimir: I used to be on the staff of the Podolsk administration, but I lost my job as a result of staff cuts. Now I want to start my own business, but I need support to do that.

Vladimitr Putin: As far as I understand you are suggesting that the money the government allocated to solve the employment problem should be used not only to support the unemployed but also to promote business activities.

Vladimir: That is correct.

Vladimir Putin: I think I should tell you that we envisage such support. Part of the money allocated by the Federation and by the regions should go to support small enterprises, the people who have lost their jobs but can and want to go into business.

Vladimir: It is not only the question of money. You may get the money, but it is impossible to start a new business. It would be great if we could get help in organizing the business, buying premises, leasing the equipment, for example, in order to open a bakery.

Vladimir Putin: I agree. The money is envisaged under the programmes that the regions and the Federation are developing. There is an expenditure line item for business start-up. That money should be backed up by certain efforts on the part of the local authorities in providing infrastructure facilities. That should be in the programme the regions are developing together with the Federation.

Addressing the governor of the Moscow Region, Boris Gromov, and the Minister of Healthcare and Social Development, Tatyana Golikova:

You have several projects connected with support of business. Vladimir is right in saying that even if you give the money it is impossible to start one's own business because one should get premises and many other things. He is aware how difficult it is because he has worked at the regional administration himself. Apparently, one area of effort in coping with the problems in the labour market should be to make sure that the money disbursed to fund a private business should be combined with the efforts of the regions aimed at providing the necessary services, providing the premises and developing the infrastructure.

* * *

The people who had come to the Podolsk employment agency and discovered that they had a chance to talk with the Prime Minister were interested not only in solving their personal problems, but in the overall situation in the country. This was the subject of the Prime Minister's conversation with Ms.Romanova. .

Follows the transcript of the talk:

Ms.Romanova: When will the crisis be over?

Vladimir Putin: The problem is that nobody has an answer to that question. You know why? Because no one in the world can remember anything like this happening. There is nothing to compare it with. Our experts and international experts have nothing to compare it with. Nobody has the answer.

Ms.Romanova: Just give me a rough idea. How long will we have to tighten our belts?

Vladimir Putin: I think we should feel the difference in the first quarter of next year, we should see light at the end of the tunnel

Ms.Romanova: Everybody says that our economy is in good shape. ..

Vladimir Putin: In reality, the foundation is good enough. Even though you have nothing to be glad about because you have lost your job on the whole the economy will withstand the crisis. There is no doubt about it. The question is how to support the people who are facing dismissal.

Where do these problems stem from? They stem from the fact that when the economy was booming many enterprises were expanding production and hiring labour. That was in one way or another connected with the country's export potential. Now exports have shrunk.

For example, the oil and gas people have cut their sales, and that means that they have cut their orders to metallurgical and machine building enterprises. They in turn are cutting down their orders and production. The effect is felt throughout the economy. But, as you rightly said, the time will come when everything will start to turn around.

The task of the state in these conditions is to support the real sector to minimize the lay-offs. But the immediate task is to support the people who have found themselves in trouble. We should have enough resources and money to do that (we have mentioned that we have achieved some results recently). That is why we have raised the unemployment benefit to nearly 5000 roubles and have earmarked additional money for the employment centres so that they should work and help people to cope with their problems. We have allocated additional money to finance the regional programmes. By the way, the Moscow Region is one of the regions where that programme exists. All in all, 78 regions have such a programme. We will of course expand them and help people to find their bearings.

In the last room where I was I met employers who are looking for people to man their enterprises. I don't remember the enterprise, but it wants to hire more than 200 people at once. It offers a wage of 40000 roubles for skilled workers. So, as I said, there will be no catastrophe.

But we have to develop an effective support system, that is why I have come here in order to see how all this is working in practice, if it is working at all and if it is, how it is working.

Ms.Romanova: I've been looking for a job for three months...

Vladimir Putin: Are you looking for a specific kind of job?

Ms.Romanova: In the field for which I've been trained and where I worked for five years.

Vladimir Putin: What job did you have?

Ms.Romanova: I worked with an Internet company in Moscow, one of the leading providers, I worked at the sales department. The sales department has been shut down.

Vladimir Putin: No buyers?

Ms.Romanova: There are buyers, but new offices have opened in Tula and Orel.

Vladimir Putin: And they shut down here. Perhaps it is cheaper there?

Ms.Romanova: Naturally, office space is cheaper. That's why I am seeking a similar job here.

Vladimir Putin: You are looking for something in your line?

Ms.Romanova: Yes, something I feel comfortable with. And one more question. There are lay-offs all over the place, the wages are being cut and the prices are going up everywhere. People always ask you these questions. The prices of medicines are going up. Food is going up by the day.

Vladimir Putin: We import too much. That issue is linked with another one, I'll tell what it is.

If the export-oriented enterprises that I mentioned and on which the economy as a whole depends to a large degree are to feel secure, there needs to be the right ratio between the rouble and hard currency.

Today the ratio between the rouble and hard currency for all the export-oriented enterprises and for all the enterprises in the real sector - for chemistry and metallurgy -- allows them to breathe and stay afloat. They sell their goods for dollars and they spend roubles. If they get 35 or 36 roubles per dollar their rouble incomes grow. That means wages, parts, transport services, power supply and so on. They benefit from this rate of the rouble to the dollar.

Unfortunately, we still have to import too many things. And that includes medicines, food, etc. What is the way out?

Ms.Romanova: We should urgently improve our own economy.

Vladimir Putin: Exactly!

Ms.Romanova: I have finished the Timiryazev Agricultural Academy and the state-owned farm where I worked collapsed in the 1990s...

Vladimir Putin: But we don't want to return where we were before.

Ms.Romanova: Why not? I would return there if it existed.

Vladimir Putin: We can talk with you separately if you are interested because there are indeed many interesting projects.

Ms.Romanova: And one more question. What will happen to the dollar, the rouble and the euro? Will our beloved rouble ever grow stronger?

Vladimir Putin: Yes, by all means. I have already said that the rate of the rouble to the dollar and the euro has reached a balance. As you see it is standing still with regard to the two-currency basket.

Ms.Romanova: Could it collapse?

Vladimir Putin: It shoudn't. The Central Bank assures us that no changes are planned in the near future and there are no prerequisites for that yet. We get a lot of dollars and euro from our exports. Our export-oriented enterprises have sold something and have earned dollars, but they need roubles. They surrender all this to the Central Bank and the Central Bank issues them roubles which they spend here. The inflow of foreign currency export earnings is today balanced by the outflow of the money that we use to pay for imports. That establishes equilibrium. Barring some tragic changes in external markets, I mean lasting and not one-off changes, nothing wrong will happen. Even if the price briefly drops further nothing will happen because we are able to maintain that ratio due to our reserves.

Ms.Romanova: But there are reports that over the next two years there will be some kind of new currency.

Vladimir Putin: No, I think the American financial and political authorities will never agree to surrender the dollar. They will fight to the last.

Ms.Romanova: But it has already dropped.

Vladimir Putin: You know, during the Great Depression, in the late 1920s, in 1929-1934, there was a huge, massive and deep crisis. Production in the US dropped by 40%. Now it has dropped by just 2%. So, it is not even remotely similar to that tragedy. The American economy will recover in the short and medium term, there is no doubt about it. Of course, we do not know what will happen later if they continue to pursue the same careless economic policy as in the previous years. But I do not see any profound tragedies in the medium term.

Ms.Romanova: And one last question. Will the retirement age be increased?

Vladimir Putin: I don't think there is a need for that. Having said that, I would remind you that in Italy they have passed a law whereby women will retire at 65.

Ms.Romanova: I hear that in France the unemployment benefit is at least 500 euro.

Vladimir Putin: Such comparisons should not be made because the level of incomes and expenditure and the expenditure structure are quite different. They cannot be compared in such terms, one has to look at the entire picture of spending and incomes.

Ms.Romanova: Thank you very much.