MOSCOW, December 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reaffirmed the government's pledge to honor all social commitments next year and in the medium-term perspective, despite the ongoing global financial crisis.

At a government meeting on Saturday, Putin said the government had mapped out large social measures, including measures in the sphere of health care, housing and education for 2009 and for the medium-term perspective.

"We proceed from the fact that all declared priority plans, including measures to make the pension system more stable, I mean measures to raise pensions, will be fulfilled," Putin said.

Russia's Federal Statistics Service earlier said the country's unemployment rate had risen by 8% in November against the same period last year to total five million people.

The service said that 1.3 million people had officially registered as unemployed, and that 1 million of them were receiving unemployment benefits.

Putin earlier said the situation could deteriorate further due to the ongoing global financial crisis.