Russia Posts Record-low Unemployment In 2001

Russia has posted a record-low unemployment rate this year, Vice Premier Valentina Matviyenko told a Moscow press conference Tuesday. According to her, the current rate of joblessness in Russia is 8.8 percent of the country's working population. Some 6.2 million job seekers are now registered with Russia's unemployment agencies, while the number of vacancies exceeds that of jobless people by 60,000. In 2001, the federal government has paid out all of its back unemployment benefits and settled half of its children's welfare debt, Ms. Matviyenko said. According to the Russian Vice-Premier, this year has seen stronger government support for Russia's disabled citizens, numbering 9.9 million. The amount of funds allocated from the federal coffers for the implementation of a program for social support of the disabled in Russia has been 3.5 times as great as last year's, Ms. Matviyenko reported.