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expectations regarding the outlook for activity over the coming year. Positive sentiment partly reflected hopes that greater client referrals would translate into higher customer numbers,” S&P wrote, noting that after easing in May, the degree of confidence rebounded close to April's nine-month high.
4.5 Labour and income
4.5.1 Labour market, unemployment dynamics
Unemployment in Russia in May again reached a historic low of 3.2%.
The number of unemployed decreased to 2.4mn people, official data showed.
Acceleration in wage growth and falling unemployment ... Overall, while the headline data gives a very positive picture of a rapid economic recovery in Russia, it is important not to overestimate the importance of that since to a large extent the good figures are a reflection of big declines in output seen one year ago. However, two macro trends should be viewed as a reason for concern: these are the acceleration in real wage growth and a continued decline in the unemployment rate. These tendencies together show that structural problems in the Russian economy are getting deeper and more acute – _such problems as a lack of labour due to falls in migration inflows and poor demographics. That, in turn, puts rising pressure on wages – _a factor that potentially could become one of the main drivers for inflation.
... are a matter of concern in the long term. Potentially, these structural
45 RUSSIA Country Report August 2023 www.intellinews.com