Russia’s unemployment rate reaches 6.1% for May

Russia’s unemployment rate reached 6.1% in May according to a statement by Labour Minister Anton Kotyakov on Wednesday. The unemployment rate increased from April’s 5.8% which was recorded by Rosstat, the state’s statistics services.

In a conference run by the Russian Union of Industrialist and Entrepreneurs, Kotyakov said that the domestic labor market had fared better in the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak than a number of other countries. He added that the domestic labor market is expected to begin recovery in the fourth quarter.

Russia was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, having the world’s third-highest number of cases with over 550,000 confirmed.

Last week, Moscow began easing its 2-month lockdown measures. Moscow is Russia’s worst-hit area by the pandemic.  

Rosstat is expected to release its May’s unemployment data on Friday.