“Russians have started cutting back on everything”: Zhalilo on the hidden crisis in Russia despite the official “low unemployment rate”
15 May 16:16
The official unemployment rate in Russia is 2.4%. Retail sales are supposedly on the rise. But behind these figures lies a very different picture: restaurant closures have increased by 31%, nominal wage growth has nearly halved compared to last year, and the proportion of delinquent loans is hitting record highs.
Economist Yaroslav Zhalilo discussed this in an interview with the YouTube channel "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to him, official unemployment statistics do not reflect the real state of affairs—in particular because some workers have simply been shifted to a few days a week and are not formally considered unemployed. The real picture, however, is evident in how people are spending their money: they are buying less, avoiding restaurants, and saving.
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“This is consumer demand. We understand that when the economy slows down, those working in the manufacturing sectors are the first to see their wages cut. We’re talking about various financial institutions, support services, service industries, and so on,” the economist explained.
For comparison, Zhalilo cited the example of Ukraine. According to him, Ukrainian cities—in particular Kharkiv and Mykolaiv—have already learned to live alongside danger and continue to work and shop.
In Russia, however, the population is only now beginning to feel the war firsthand—and is shifting en masse into a mode of frugality, cutting back on any unnecessary expenses.
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