Russia should spend an additional one percent of gross domestic product on social stimulus as unemployment pushes more people into poverty this year, the World Bank said Monday, the Moscow Times reports. The bank believes the country’s GDP will drop 4,5 percent in 2009, and then stabilize in 2010. Meanwhile, unemployment is increasing and today totals 6,4 million people (8,5%). Unemployment reached 8.5 percent, or 6.4 million people, in February after rising by 0.4 percent in both January and February. -The unexpected and fast expansion of the social effects is an important aspect of the crisis and one that it’s important to pay attention to, World Bank economist Zeljko Bogetic told the newspaper. -There is a risk for social tensions, he added. At the same time, the Russian Reserve Fund will be more than sufficiently for the coverage of the country’s forecasted 7,4 percent budget deficit in 2009, the bank believes.
