Most Norwegians and French in Murmansk
Of foreign nationals in need of visas, Norwegians and French top the statistics of foreign workers in Murmansk Oblast.
According to the Federal Employment Service in Murmansk, a total of 123 foreign nationals from visa countries got work permissions in Murmansk Oblast the first eleven months of 2010. Of these, 38 percent are Norwegians and 34 percent French, a press release from the Murmansk regional administration reads.
A total of 20 requests on the employment of visa-country nationals were submitted in the period and all were approved, the regional employment service informs.
It is believed that a significant number of both the Norwegians and the French are engaged in petroleum-related activities. Murmansk Oblast will be the hub for the Shtokman field development, a project which currently is under planning by partners Gazprom, Total and Statoil.
The number of foreign experts is likely to increase strongly in the years to come, a process which has been facilitated by changes in Russian federal legislation. As previously reported, foreign specialists making more than two million RUB/year are now entitled to apply for facilitated visa and labor permits.
Of work permissions issued to nationals from non-visa countries, a total of 1659 applications were approved, which is an insignificant change from previous years. Uzbeks and Azerbaijans accounted for respectively 36 and 20 percent of these people.
Murmansk Oblast today has an offical unemployment of 2,6 percent, whcih is a decrease of 0,2 percent compared with the same period last year, the latest figures from the regional employment service show.
