Amid a deepening labour shortage, the Russian government is to ease restrictions on employing teenagers in certain industries once considered too dangerous for minors, Russian news agency TASS reported on Thursday.

Nilov said the new rules would come into force this summer and would “significantly reduce restrictions” on hiring teenagers in high-risk industries while continuing to protect the rights of minors.

“We’re talking about working conditions that were considered dangerous 20 years ago,” Nilov said, adding that the situation had now changed, and claiming that industries once thought to be dangerous were “safer to be in than on the street”, though he didn’t specify which sectors would be affected.