Employment in Russia: structure and dynamics

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

Employment of the population of Russia and its nature is determined by various factors. First of all, this is the raw material orientation of the Russian economy, monocentrism, the predominance of market relations and sufficient technological backwardness. The nature of employment is also affected by the size of real wages. Labor productivity in our country is low, which means that more labor is required. At the same time, it is not always possible to find a job in your speci alty.

Legal and shadow employment

In Russia, there is an acute problem with the legalization of employment. Every year the number of workers involved in the shadow sector of the economy is growing rapidly. In 2016, according to official data, their share was 21.2% of the total number - a total of 15.4 million people. This shows the structure of employment in Russia. Those who are involved in shadow employment can conditionally be divided into 2 types:

Those who receive a tax-free salary.
The so-called self-employed who work informally and don't pay taxes either.

The above figures are probably underestimated, as accounting for such sectors is extremely difficult. For example, the estimates given by the RANEPA give a figure of 40%. True, it also includes those who have an official job, but additionally earn extra money in the shadow sector.

The number of self-employed and the number of those who receive "gray" salaries at the place of work, or have unofficial part-time jobs, is increasing annually. Thus, the number of those receiving "gray" wages from 2013 to 2016 increased from 35 to 54 percent.

Reasons for growing shadow employment

One of the main reasons for the growth of the shadow sector is the increasing cases of layoffs of employees from various organizations where they worked officially. The growth in the number of migrants also contributes to an increase in the share of informal part-time jobs. The desire to save on employees is becoming a frequent occurrence. This allows you to work harder on the remaining workers, and possibly slightly increase their wages. The latter may be especially relevant in the case of an increase in the minimum wage. However, in other cases, salaries, on the contrary, are cut, including to a level below the minimum wage. This forces employees to look for other jobs, becoming temporarily unemployed.

Part of the dismissed move into the sphere of shadow employment. For many firms, laying off employees is the only way to survive in the difficult economic conditions that have developed in Russia in recent years.years.

Other factors were: the growth of taxes and fees, the widespread bureaucracy, the general decline in real wages in the public sector. Many are now forced to work part-time to cover their previous debts or to buy a car, since the latter category of expenses has become very prestigious. Many people want to improve their housing or just earn more or less worthy. In these cases, part-time jobs coincide with the main job, but they can also be shady.

Employment statistics in Russia

Employment and unemployment are largely interconnected. When wages get too low or a person is laid off, they can become temporarily unemployed. Someone goes to the labor exchange, but there are few of them. After all, unemployment benefits are not growing, and their value is absolutely miserable. Yes, and work on the stock exchange is often offered the most obscene, which few agree to.

There are two ways to calculate the number of unemployed:

According to the number of applicants to the labor exchange.
According to direct surveys of the population.

It is clear that the second option will provide more objective information about the real employment situation.

According to the figures of Rosstat, the unemployed in Russia are about 5%. According to independent sources, in reality it is 2-2.5 times higher. Higher rates, of course, among young people. This means that the problems of employment in Russia are not an invention of the opponents of the current government.

Howeverbeing unemployed does not mean that a person is unemployed. After all, many earn extra money unofficially, that is, in fact, they are both employed and unemployed at the same time.

Employment of the population of Russian regions

In Russia, the division into economically prosperous and backward regions is quite pronounced. The former include oil and gas producing regions, regions of the Far North, the capital region, some agricultural and other regions. However, most of the country is backward in one way or another. There is also a dependence on the size of cities: small cities and towns account for the majority of the unemployed. This means that there are problems with employment.

Employment situation in 3-4 years

According to experts, the coming years may show a deterioration in the employment situation. The gradual increase in the retirement age and the desire of many organizations to get rid of "extra" employees can lead to the fact that there will be an overabundance of personnel. Unemployment could rise up to 25%. Whether it will be so or not, only time will tell, however, an increase in unemployment is expected already throughout 2018. Most likely, the process was going on before. At the very least, the number of layoffs increased.

Most of all, specialists in the field of information technology will be in demand on the labor market. There is also likely to be a strong demand for workers in the oil, new technology and industrial sectors. At the same time, the demand for low-skilled labor will fall sharply. And this means that simpleIt will not be easy for a worker to find a job. A market economy is not a planned socialist one. If employees are not needed, they will simply get rid of them.

Employee Requirements

Already now, Russian citizens are forced to accept any job, even poorly paid. But by 2022, the situation could become even tougher. Many employers place higher demands on their employees. At the same time, the institution of trade unions in our country, unlike other states, is strangled in the bud. In addition, our salaries are almost never standardized, and directors can receive dozens of times higher than employees. People have no one to turn to for help, and they are forced to agree to the demands of the boss. For example, work weekends or overtime.

Employers' demands on employees are likely to only increase in the future.