So far, consumers have faced surging prices and shuttered foreign-owned stores, but little of the turmoil and deprivation seen in the 1990s after the Soviet economy collapsed. Retail sales probably dropped about 10% in March, according to Goldman Sachs, while the heavily import-dependent auto sector plunged by more than 60%.
The Labor Ministry estimates that almost 100,000 workers were furloughed in late March and only 14,000 people have had to take unpaid leave. Employers are so far planning to lay off a total of just around 50,000, it said. “The situation in the labour market is in a standstill,” said Alexei Zakharov, president of online recruiter Superjob.ru. “The only thing we hear from employers is that they will keep every last person and don’t want to fire anyone.”Irina worked kitchen jobs at a McDonald’s in St. Petersburg before being furloughed last month when the company announced it was temporarily closing all 850 locations in Russia following the invasion.
Alongside inflation, unemployment is now a top concern for Russians. As recently as February, job loss registered near the bottom of the ranking of “fears” in a monthly index compiled by state-run pollster VTsIOM.
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