Russian industrial production fell 5% in April from the prior month, according to the economy ministry.
That comes amid a historic labor shortage, and the unemployment rate hit a record low of 3.3%.
Russia's war on Ukraine has set off a mass exodus of workers and the mobilization of 300,000 troops.
Sign up for our newsletter to get the inside scoop on what traders are talking about — delivered daily to your inbox. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Official Russian statistics released on Wednesday highlight constrained economic performance, as industrial production fell sharply.
Some analysts have previously warned against putting much faith in the Kremlin's data, which is often used to portray Russian economy in a more positive light.
But the economy ministry said industrial output dropped 5% in April from the prior month, according to Reuters. That's despite state spending and demand for military production.
The drop coincides with a historic labor shortage that's weighing on factories. According to a central bank survey last month, Russia's economy is facing a record worker shortage amid losses in its war on Ukraine and a mass exodus.
About 1 million people have left Russia, whether to avoid a mobilization decree from October or to find better economic opportunities.
On Wednesday, the economy ministry backed up the earlier findings, saying Russia's unemployment rate dropped to a record low of 3.3%.
Meanwhile, retail sales in April dipped 0.1% from the prior month, signaling weakness in consumer demand. Monthly GDP growth also slowed to 0.2% in April after accounting for seasonal adjustments.
First-quarter corporate profits fell 22.3% year over year, while capital investments dropped to 0.7% from last year's 13.8%.
GarySiniseOfficiaI on June 2nd, 2023 at 04:02 UTC »
Again I want to reiterate that this war is already lost for Russia.
It doesn’t matter now if tomorrow they razed Kyiv and annexed the entire country, this war has been a loss.
Anything now is a pyrrhic victory, Russia was portraying so much power and bravado before this. Now the NATO border is doubled, they clearly cannot wage war effectively and look terrifically weak, their economy is shit, and there’s likely 50k+ dead and 100k casualties in their ranks.
No victory whatsoever can restore what people thought Russia was, now there simply is what Russia is.
Weak.
No-Owl9201 on June 2nd, 2023 at 03:17 UTC »
Russian's self imposed disasters could be solved by stopping Putin's war, and restoring democracy to ordinary Russians.
Core2score on June 2nd, 2023 at 03:12 UTC »
This is potentially worse than the Western sanctions... Putin's stupid draft has caused a huge number of young professionals to leave Russia, and an even bigger number to be dragged to the front lines. Odds are, the ones that don't die for the old asshole's glory seeking will return traumatized, injured, or both.. and defo in no shape to work or contribute to the economy.