Russia sets new record for labour shortage despite high wages
As of the end of 2024, Russian companies faced a shortage of 2.6 million workers, a 17% increase compared to the previous year, setting a new record. Source: The Moscow Times, citing a report by Russia's Higher School of Economics Details: The most acute shortages are in manufacturing (391,000 workers), trade (347,000) and transport (219,000).
Employers in these sectors are offering salaries above RUB 100,000 (approx. US£ 717), around one and a half times higher than the national average.
Advertisement:The study attributes the growing number of job openings in manual labour professions to a decline in migrant workers, the depreciation of the rouble, and the impact of a series of economic shocks. The outlet notes that the deepening labour crisis is directly linked to the consequences of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
In 2022, around 300,000 working-age men were mobilised. Meanwhile, between 650,000 and 1.1 million people left the country, protesting Kremlin policies and fleeing mobilisation. Further army recruitment has only worsened the labour shortage.
Advertisement:At the same time, sanctions have weakened the economy and triggered a sharp fall in the rouble.
This, along with tighter migration laws, has led to a significant outflow of citizens from Central Asian countries.
Background: In the first quarter of 2025, domestic sales of Russian agricultural machinery dropped sharply.
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