The Russian Health Ministry plans to encourage entrepreneurial activity and mobility among Russia's millions of unemployed, business daily Kommersant said on Tuesday.
Health Minister Tatyana Golikova said two government programs to bridge the divide on Russia's unbalanced labor market will come into effect in 2012.
The first program will encourage unemployed people to set up businesses by offering 60,000 ruble ($1,950) grants, while the other will assist individuals seeking work outside of their hometown. The mobility program's annual budget of 1.8 billion rubles ($58 million) will go towards tickets, accommodation and travel expenses.
Golikova said at a government meeting on Monday that the programs were not "anti-crisis measures," but permanent schemes to solve the problems of unemployment and low mobility.
However, experts are skeptical that Russians will up anchor so willingly. Teri Lindeberg, chairman of Russia's leading recruitment and executive search company Staffwell, said that unlike in the United States, where people are constantly seeking change, "people in Russia are closely bound to their parents and cautious about moving."
"You could say that this trend [mobility] is only just beginning in Russia. The migration process is also hampered by the fact that you have to register at your new place of residence," he added.
Russia's internal migration figure for 2009 was only 1.78 million people, almost 200,000 fewer people than in 2008.
MOSCOW, June 22 (RIA Novosti)
