Russia's unemployment rate dropped to 7.5% from 8.4% year-on-year in 2010, the Federal Agency for Statistics said on Wednesday.
President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that the unemployment rate had returned to the pre-crisis level and that the government would proceed with its program to support the national labor market.
"The share of economically active population in the country was 67.7% on average in 2010, and the share of employed people was 62.7%," the statistics agency said in its report.
Medvedev said the crisis year of 2008 had helped the government find ways to boost employment by creating jobs, supporting labor centers and helping the unemployed start their own businesses.
The European Union's annual unemployment rate for all of its 27 member states hit 8.9% in 2009 and rose to 9.6% in 2010, according to Eurostat.
MOSCOW, February 9 (RIA Novosti)
