More than 1.7 million Russian workers had lost their jobs due to the global financial crisis, and the Russia government has taken measures to stabilize the labor market.

The number of registered jobless people was 1.735 million as of February 3, up nearly 40 percent from October 2008, according to the latest data released by Russia's Health and Social Development Ministry.

Mikhail Shmakov, chairman of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions, said a total of 500,000 people were dismissed in the fourth quarter last year, and another 500,000 will lose their jobs in the first quarter of this year.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has given top priority to ensuring employment. He ordered law enforcement agencies to help stabilize the labor market, and play a more active role in safeguarding the rights of employees.

By mid-January, a mechanism for monitoring layoffs has been established, covering more than 12,000 Russian enterprises.

In addition, the Russian federal government will spend 43.7 billion rubles (US$1.2 billion) on creating new jobs, said First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov earlier.

The Ministry of Health and Social Development has also put forward proposals to enhance job security, which included launching a website to publish information on job opportunities and offering more generous benefit to unemployed or semi-unemployed workers.

Despite the government's vigorous efforts to tackle the looming unemployment crisis, analysts anticipated a bleak job market for Russia this year. Some experts predicted that persisting economic woes are likely to worsen in the fall, resulting in more severe unemployment by then.