The actual unemployment in Russia is at least twice as high as the official statistics. It is five or six times higher than the number of people registered with unemployment services, according to founder of the Superjob job website Alexei Zakharov who was interviewed by Interfax.
Alexei Zakharov estimates that the actual number of the unemployed is currently around 10 mio people, which is over 12% because the number of people of working age in Russia is around 80 mio.
The Superjob founder stressed that even on paper the unemployment rate will soon increase because many companies have simply not been able to finalize dismissal of their employees and their own bankruptcies.
By fall, the actual number of the unemployed may double and reach 20 mio people.
“Ten million is a lot and 20 million is already dangerous in terms of social stability,” said Sergei Khestanov, economist and associated professor at the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA). “Let’s hope that this prognosis is exaggerated.”