The Real Sector of the Economy in the 1st Quarter of 2014

In the 1st quarter of 2014, economic dynamics were determined by growth in consumer demand and a drop in investment demand. On the basis of the results of the 1st quarter of 2014, investments in capital assets fell by 4.8% on the respective period of the previous year with simultaneous reduction of volumes of jobs in building and production of capital goods. In the 1st quarter of 2014, growth rates of retail trade turnover amounted to 103.5%, which is 0.5 p.p. lower than the respective index of 2013. In January-March 2014, recovery of industrial growth thanks to a 2.4% increase in the output of manufacturing industries as compared to January-March 2013 had a positive effect on the economic situation. As of the end of March 2014, offices of the state employment service registered 941,000 persons as unemployed which is 13.2% lower as compared to March 2013