Russian PM: Economy shrank by 2% in 11 months
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Wednesday that the Russian gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 2% annually in the first 11 months of 2022, adding that the "negative forecasts about the Russian economy did not come true." Estimates by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicted that the Russian GDP will shrink between 3.4% and 4.5% in 2022.
Mishustin stated that the domestic labor market remains stable and that unemployment reached a "historic low" in November at 3.7%. He also noted that Russia has recorded growth in construction, agriculture and equipment manufacturing, with plans to double the production of cars in the next two years.