The unemployment rate is a value that determines, as a percentage, the ratio of the total number of the able-bodied population in the country to the number of non-working able-bodied citizens. This is a criterion of the state of the economy, which has its own permissible value in each country. The unemployment rate indicator is taken into account in the preparation of all economic forecasts and calculations that are used in planning the development of both the entire state as a whole and its individual territories.
The unemployment rate in Russia, like in other countries, is one of the main indicators of the state of the economy. According to Rosstat, from January to April 2012 this figure in our country was 6.5%, and since May it has decreased to 5.4%. But most likely, the decrease in the unemployment rate does not indicate positive changes in the economy, but is associated with a seasonal factor, in particular, with the beginning of agricultural work.
According to the results of the past few years, experts have estimated the unemployment rate in Russia as constantly decreasing - back in 2009 it was 9%. But today's numbers won't seem so good anymore, given that they are averages. There are regions in which unemployment is several times higher than the average.
These regions, first of all, include Ingushetia, where the unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2012 was 48.9%, Chechnya - 35.3%, the Republic of Tyva - 21.7%, Altai Territory - 17.2%, Kalmykia - 13.3%, Kabardino-Balkaria - 13%, Dagestan - 12.7%. In the Astrakhan, Kaliningrad and Kurganinsk regions, unemployment is 10.4, 10.1 and 11.9%, respectively.
Regions of the North Caucasian Federal District are attracting special attention of the government. Here, the number of the able-bodied population living on dependents exceeds the number of those who are employed in production. Economists believe this was due to overpopulation, lack of production, and high levels of corruption.
The same problem exists in single-industry towns - a legacy of the Soviet period, when a closed life support regime was created in certain settlements working for the defense industry, in which all its systems were under the jurisdiction of one enterprise. There are especially many such settlements in Siberia and the Urals.
The only way out of this situation, according to experts, is the development of the Russian manufacturing sector and an increase in the number of small businesses. For this, first of all, the interest and support of the state is needed.
