Moscow is the largest industrial center in Russia. More than half of its highly skilled industrial workforce is employed in engineering and metalworking industries that produce cars, trucks, ball bearings, and machine tools. The centuries-old textile industry is the city's second largest employer. In the early 1990s the largest sectors of employment for Moscow's workforce were industry (24 percent), science and associated services (20 percent), construction (11 percent), and trade (10 percent).
Moscow has attracted an enormous amount of foreign investment in its retail, wholesale, and construction sectors since Russia made the transition to a market economy in the early 1990s. State-run stores selling subsidized domestic goods to long lines of consumers have been largely replaced by joint-venture firms selling plentiful imported goods at market prices. New Western-style office buildings and hotels are under construction, and numerous nightclubs have opened. A huge new underground shopping complex complete with parking garage is located under Manezhnaya Square, near the Kremlin. The city is also the center of Russia's banking, insurance, and financial industries.
Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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