MOSCOW: Russia's unemployment rate has dropped to a historic low of 3.6 per cent, President Vladimir Putin said.
"The unemployment rate was at a historic low, even before the pandemic, our unemployment rate was 4.7 per cent, and the latest labour market data (shows) it is 3.6 percent, " Xinhua news agency quoted Putin as saying on Tuesday.
"I think nobody expected that. Everyone expected that plants will stop. They are functioning. The unemployment rate goes down. Incomes have a slight uptick. All that leads to growth of domestic trade and its volumes. This is a very good indicator, " Putin added.
On a positive note, he said that harvest in the country was a record high in the history of Russia.
"The Agriculture Minister reported to me two days ago that (the harvest) is already about 153-155 million metric tonnes. This is actually the record throughout the contemporary history of Russia and nothing of the kind occurred in Soviet times, " Putin added.