Again to be trite, we must hold off to discern whether there is a blip here or a persistent trend.

BBC: Job centre

As you can see, the overall trend is clear: Russian unemployment has been on a persistent downward trend from over 8% to right around 5.5%.

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If persistent, this trend amounts to a catastrophe for an industry that holds its most valuable assets neither in gold vaults nor in brand value, but in brainpower.

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