During the first 8 months of the current year, the economic growth was 13.9%, but, despite this, the population of Armenia continues to become poorer, the head of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun's Office of Economic Affairs, Suren Parsyan, told NEWS.am.

He noted that the economic growth is distributed unfairly and it leads to the reduction of the living standards of the population.

The expert stated that the average salary has increased by 17-18%, and in the public sector by only 4-5% (30% of the country's employees work there), while the growth of food prices reached 14%, which means a higher poverty rate.

The oppositionist explained that the high economic growth, which the government forecasted at the beginning of the year at 7% and now at 11-12%, is conditioned by a serious inflow of Russian tourists, as well as 80-90% growth of exports, which in its turn is conditioned by the growth of metal prices, as well as re-export of goods that were under sanctions in Russia and are exported to Russia, including those transiting through Armenia.

"In the first half of the year 290 thousand Russian tourists arrived in Armenia, some of whom stayed here and created additional demand in terms of real estate, financial system, catering. In the first 8 months of 2022 the inflow of transfers to Armenia amounted to 2.5 billion dollars. The volume of transfers from Russia, where the main flow comes from, has increased about 3 times. There is also an outflow of capital and emigration of the population. On average, each Armenian citizen who leaves for the U.S. takes away 25-30 thousand dollars," stressed Parsyan.

He noted that the influx of Russians led to a twofold increase in rental housing prices, exacerbating social problems of the local population, whose income does not grow in the same proportion. "The construction boom intensified even more, and real estate prices rose by 15-20%. The banking industry grew by 20%, the net profit of banks in the first half of the year tripled," said the economist.

He expressed confidence that with the end of the inflow of Russian and Russian capital, the current situation will change drastically, causing serious problems, and the bubble could easily burst due to the lack of a base.

The expert called the growth of the inflation rate this year unprecedented, given that for the first 9 months it was 8.6%. "In September food prices went up by 13.7% compared to the same month last year. At the same time people's incomes do not grow in the same proportion. The rise in food prices was affected by the 5.5% drop in agricultural production: livestock production decreased by 3.3%, while crop production - by 8.8%. The increase in demand due to the influx of citizens from Russia is also having an effect.  It proves that the government failed in the sphere of agriculture, where 1/3 of all employees of the country are engaged, despite injections of 45bln AMD during the last years," said the economist.

According to his assessment, the Central Bank, which is constantly raising the refinancing rate, is failing to curb inflation. "At this rate, it will not be possible to keep 8.6 percent. The influx of Russians will further contribute to the rate of inflation, which in dollar terms is at least 15-20%. The decline of the dollar-drama exchange rate had a certain deterrent effect on food prices," he added.

According to Suren Parsyan, the growth of 60-70 thousand jobs is associated with the withdrawal of unregistered workers from the "shadows" and the influx of Russian tourists, which created a demand for labor in the service sector.

The expert called the most important task of the Government the solution of security problems, otherwise it is impossible to count on serious investments.