Russia's July Unemployment Rate Falls to Record-Low 5.8 Percent

In Bloomberg today:

Russia's July Unemployment Rate Falls to Record-Low 5.8 Percent

By Maria Levitov

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Russia's unemployment rate fell in July to a record-low 5.8 percent as economic growth fuels the need for new workers.

The unemployment rate fell from 6.7 percent in June, the Moscow-based Federal Statistics Service said in an e-mailed statement today. The median forecast of 11 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 6.7 percent rate.

Russia's economy, the world's 10th biggest, is expanding for a ninth consecutive year, boosted by revenue from oil and gas sales. The economy will probably expand at least 7 percent this year, compared with 6.7 percent in 2006, government officials have said.

The average monthly wage increased an annual 15.4 percent in July to reach a monthly average of 13,575 rubles ($523.81), the statistics office said. Real disposable income increased 15.5 percent, it said.