Closing meeting of Tatarstan State Committee for Statistics

A task to create the statistics meeting the standards of market economy was set by Head of the State Committee for Statistics Valery Kandilov at the closing meeting of the Committee on February 25.

President of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev took part in its work. In Valery Kandilov’s opinion, further development and reforming of the State statistics system lies with the achievement of the following strategic goals: information availability and data accessibility, transparency of its storage methodology for all interested users, enhancing trust to the statistics data, scientific approach, use of statistic standards and classification, optimal selection of the statistics information sources.

The research on the informal employment matter can be brought as a vivid example. The participants of the informal labor market are those who do not register their employment relations, thus they have an opportunity to obtain unregistered and untaxed income. As the informal labor market is latent in its character, the process of its state control is very complex. On this reason the State Committee for Statistics turns to various methods. The last investigation among population on the issue of its engagement in the informal labor market relations was carried out in November 2002 by random public-opinion poll with a help of special questionnaires. In the beginning of December 2002, the informal labor market of the Republic amounted to 286,200 people, or 16% of the total economically active population of the Republic.

The State Committee for Statistics forecasted the balance of manpower in the Republic for the year 2002. The basic source of the manpower is able-bodied population. In the beginning of 2003, the manpower in the Republic increased by 7,200 people and amounted to 2270,000 people. The increase resulted from generation succession.

In 2002, the labor market of the Republic demonstrated a trend to the decrease of the number of employed people and growth of unemployment. The category of “economically unemployed population” amounted to 25,3 % of the total manpower. The structure of the unemployed population changed: the number of unemployed people decreased by 14%, the number of students increased by 6,8% and other categories of economically unemployed citizens - by 5,2%.

One of the most important indexes observed in the statistics practice, is the level of income in money terms. In 2002, the money income per capita of the Republic, according to the estimation, amounted to 3216,36 rubles. Valery Candilov mentioned a certain wage growth, which shows the increase of the population’s officially registered income. The part of the transfers in the population’s income is relatively stable and amounts to 12-14%.

The population channels a part of its money income into savings, which may be viewed under the certain conditions as a source of investments and which promote the economic growth. According to the estimation, in 2002, the investments potential of the republican population amounted to 39 billion rubles, including bank deposits (about 16 billion rubles), and cash (approximately 17 billion). Implementation of many projects, carried out by the State Committee for Statistics of the Republic, supposes the engagement of economists, mathematicians, sociologists, both from our Republic and Moscow. Direct cooperation with them resulted in creation of the commodity flows balance system, financial balance resources system, as well as balance system of the Republican cities and regions manpower. Besides, different researches on the matter of the informal employment as well as the works on selection improvement were held.

In 2002, the State Committee for Statistics continued its scientific researches on the issue of commodity flows balance based on the 54 commodity articles which are the major items of the producing technology and consumer goods. In the value terms these commodities embrace approximately 90% of the total republican commodity resources.

The oil resources situation of Tatarstan reveals a positive balance. The Republic covers entirely its demand in the strategic raw staff. In 2001, the conditions of the oil-products market improved in comparison with the year 2000. In general, the trade between the Republic of Tatarstan and the regions of the Russian Federation as well as the foreign countries on the mentioned commodity articles shows a positive trade balance – 80,6 billion rubles at the present prices rate.

When working on the social-economic policy of the Republic, first of all, we need the statistics data to be guided by, said President of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev. Even if we apply any other methods of the analysis, they will also be based on the data of the State Committee for Statistics. Your work is responsible. The statistics was indispensable already during the period of the Pyramids construction, milleniums before Christ. It goes without saying, that your work is of crucial importance today. That is why we should not postpone solving the problems of the work improvement and material base strengthening.