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The number of officially registered unemployed jumped from 0.73mn in March to 2.1mn in May, with people likely more keen on registering to receive additional unemployment benefits.
The estimated total number of unemployed in March 2020 increased by 0.23mn people to 4.5mn, according to the data from the RosStat statistics agency. The level of unemployment rose from 4.7% in March to 5.8% in April to 6.1% in May. Previously, in August 2019 unemployment in Russia was down to an all-time low of 4.3%.
4.5.2 Income dynamics
The share of Russians with average monthly income of RUB15,000 ($210) increased from 38% to 45% during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, RBC business portal reported citing a survey of RosGosStrakh Life insurance company.
A fifth of Russians said their incomes saw a considerable decline in the COVID crisis, while a third of the respondents had to give up petty and discretionary spending.
As reported by bne IntelliNews, t he drop in incomes is coupled with a very thin buffer of savings for most Russian households.
The share of those in extreme poverty with incomes of less than RUB5,000 also increased by 1.2pp as compared to the previous survey in February, to 8.1%. Incomes of over RUB15,000 went down from 62% to 55%, and of over RUB25,000 from 36% to 27%.
38 RUSSIA Country Report August 2020 www.intellinews.com
