Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during an address to the nation concerning a pension reforms proposed by the government, in Moscow, on August 29, 2018. (KREMLIN PHOTO)

MOSCOW, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Russian unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in September, marking a decrease of 10.1 percent over the same period in 2017, the Russian Federal State Statistics Service Rosstat said in a report on Wednesday.

According to the report, the number of economically active population aged 15 and older amounted to 76.6 million people or 52 percent of the total population last month, with 3.4 million classified as unemployed, in accordance with the rules of the International Labor Organization.

Of this number, 0.6 million people were officially registered as unemployed, with 0.5 million receiving unemployment benefits, according to the Federal Labor and Employment Service, the report said.