Socio-Economic Situation Between the First and Second Wave of Pandemic: Q3 2020 Fallout[Социально-Экономическая Ситуация Между Первой И Второй Волной Пандемии: Итоги Третьего Квартала 2020 Г]

Russian GDP in Q3 2020 went up in relative terms following a slight decline in Q2. During January-September 2020, GDP contracted by 3,5% compared to the same period of the previous year. Total budget revenues decreased by 12,1%. Budget expenditure posted growth across all enlarged lines with the highest growth in expenses on public health (by 92,4%), social policy (by 32,5%), and housing and utilities infrastructure (by 84,6%). In October 2020, retail trade turnover nearly hit the level of October 2019 in comparable prices. Retail sales in January-October 2020 contracted by 4.6% in annual terms including by 2.6% on food products and by 6,3% on non-food products. The physical volume of paid services decreased by 18% against January-October 2019. The number of employed went up from 10.0 mn people in May to 70,5 mn people in August-September 2020. The ILO unemployment rate stayed at 6,3–6,4% slightly falling in autumn following the peak in August. In September 2020, duration of hours worked and the count of temporary absent from work returned to the pre-crisis rate. The number of employed in the informal sector also hit the pre-crisis rate. The number of jobless registered in employment agencies went up growing till the end of September when it hit nearly 3,7 mn people of which 3,3 mn received unemployed benefits. At the end of October these indexes contracted to 3.5 and 1,7 mn people, respectively. In January-September 2020, the real disposable cash incomes contracted by 4,3% on January-September 2019, the real accrued wages and the real pensions increased by 2,6 and 2,7%, respectively. Incomes from business contracted by 16.5% in real terms, and from property – by 8,2%. The volume of social payments went up by 12,1%. The article was written on the basis of the RANEPA state assignment research programme.