Russia's labour market remains soft, while wages continue to grow

Russia's real wages are set to be hit again by slightly higher inflation observed in August as the wage - inflation spiral remains broken. 

The local labour market prefers to adjust at the cost of the nominal wage bill and at the same time to reduce total hours worked. 

"Surprisingly, this helps keep the unemployment rate fairly resilient (at 5.3-5.6% NSA), while real wages are pulled south (-9.5% yoy in August)", says Societe Generale.