Unemployment in Russia has fallen to its all-time low of 2.2% — Putin
Russia’s unemployment rate has dropped to a historic low of 2.2%, with 97.8% of the economically active population now employed, President Vladimir Putin announced at a State Council meeting.
He noted that, traditionally, youth unemployment runs slightly higher than the national average, but recent trends have been positive. In 2024, unemployment among citizens under 34 fell to 3.8%, continuing a steady decline.
Putin said that since 2022, an additional 2.6 million people have entered or re-entered the workforce, calling this a strong indicator of labor market vitality. At the same time, he emphasized that Russia faces an acute shortage of workers, with demand in several key sectors exceeding available supply.
The imbalance is especially marked in production-related and high-skill roles. According to the president, there are nearly 28 vacancies for every registered unemployed person seeking blue-collar work. Employers are particularly looking for:
- Skilled workers in industrial and technical trades
- Designers and technologists
- Engineers across multiple disciplines
To close these gaps, Putin highlighted ongoing measures under national projects such as “Personnel” and “Youth and Children.” He said the engineering training system is being modernized, and secondary vocational education is expanding to better align with industry needs. These efforts, he added, are intended to ensure a steady pipeline of qualified specialists for the economy.
Looking ahead, the president called for more proactive and effective responses to the labor market’s “most complex challenges,” pointing to the need to scale up training, retraining, and targeted support for priority sectors where demand is strongest.
