Against the backdrop of a worsening economic situation, wage arrears and hidden unemployment rates are soaring at Russian companies.
Source: The Moscow Times reports this with reference to data from the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR)
Details: As trade union monitoring reports, wage arrears rose by 25% in July, reaching 1.7 billion roubles (US$21 million), while the number of workers at risk of dismissal increased 1.5 times compared with last year. The number of workplaces in downtime also grew by one third.
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Rosstat data show that by the end of May, company wage arrears had jumped 3.4 times year on year to 1.66 billion roubles (US$20 million) (excluding small and medium-sized businesses). Rostrud recorded a sharp rise in the share of employees working part-time: from 9.1% in June to 14.4% in July. As of 15 July, almost 52,000 people were working in such a mode.
A similar trend is observed in downtime: the share of employees in this category rose to 11.1% (39,800 people). Meanwhile, in June, more than 20% of staff were declared redundant – significantly higher than in May.
According to FNPR, the main reason for growing wage arrears is the Central Bank’s high key rate, which restricts companies’ access to loans for wage payments. Falling demand adds further pressure.
“If earlier optimisation took place because of a shortage of staff, now it is due to a shortage of money,” noted Elena Dibova, vice-president of a business association.
Hidden unemployment is most pronounced in the automotive industry and construction. Companies are reducing working hours and salaries to retain key specialists while demand for their products declines.
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