RUSSIAN UNEMPLOYED WILL START TO RUN BUSINESS

The initiative of the Ministry of Economic Development to re-educate Russians who have been left without work can be supported at the level of the Government. The idea is to send unemployed citizens to business courses, providing them with further assistance in registering as individual entrepreneurs or creating legal entities.

Most likely, the financing will come from the funds of the national project for the SME support. In the nearest future, relevant intensive courses, including classes with business practitioners and experienced teachers, will be launched in 15 regions of the country. The centers "My Business", formed earlier for the implementation of the national project, will become platforms, where unemployed citizens will learn to draw up business plans and begin their first steps in the market.

According to the ministry's calculations, the result will be the opening of more than 1200 new companies and enterprises by the beginning of 2024.

Moreover, educational services will be open not only for the unemployed. There are plans to bring about 770 thousand citizens through "My Business" educational centers.

The analysts point out that the unemployment rate rose to 6.4%, breaking all the records since 2012. The number of unemployed in the country is 4.8 million, which creates additional social tension against the backdrop of a pandemic and risks associated with general uncertainty. Earlier, the Government has already allocated significant funding for the financial support of the unemployed, increasing the payment of benefits to 4.5 thousand rubles - this is the minimum possible amount of payments. The maximum amount of unemployment benefits has been raised to 12.3 thousand rubles, in fact equal to the size of the minimum wage.

Despite the optimistic plans of the Ministry of Economic Development for the further re-education of unemployed citizens, experts are critical of the proposed initiative.

While some remind that it will be difficult to predict a high level of quality of educational services, others point out the difficulties of starting a business in the absence of initial capital.

According to a number of analysts, it would be more expedient if wealthy individuals who have not only a steady income, but also the motivation necessary to work in business were involved in entrepreneurial activities.

Experts note that the proposed measures will not be able to solve the main problems that plague Russian business: high taxes and the risk of massive bankruptcy. According to the previously published survey data, more than 30% of Russian entrepreneurs express concerns about the new wave of COVID-19, which businesses may not survive.