Sanctions and Russian Labor Market: The Effect is not Yet Evident

Victor Yu. Lyashok – Senior Researcher of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Candidate of Economic Sciences (Moscow, Russia). Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The unemployment rate continues to fall, reaching 3.9% by May. This trend generated by international sanctions in the context of the economic crisis, can be explained by two reasons. On the one hand, it is a poor initial effect of sanctions, which will nevertheless intensify in the future. On the other hand, sanctions primarily affect medium and large companies, which in times of crisis are much less inclined to lay off employees compared to small businesses.

Key words: labor market, sanctions, unemployment rate, employment, recruitment/dismissals, wage.

JEL-codes: J21, J30, J60.