A dramatic situation on the labor market in Russia. 2 million employees are missing

2025-08-17 16:00
publication
2025-08-17 16:00
Nearly 2 million employees are missing in Russia – Radio Swoboda, citing the data of Russian offices. The remedy for the lack of hands to work is to remove people from India and North Korea. Increasingly, the authorities are also deciding to alleviate the recently introduced antimigration provisions.


On Wednesday, Radio Swoboda published a wide analysis of the situation on the Russian employment market. It shows that with a record low, because of only 2.2 percent. Unemployment in the country is dramatically lacking hands to work. This is evidenced by the statement of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. Mikhail Miszustin confirmed a deficiency of over two million, which is to be the result of “demographic breakdown and migration of employees to the military-industrial complex.” According to journalists of the Radio Swoboda portal, the most affected industries are trade, healthcare, production, agriculture and construction.
According to analysts, the most important reasons for the breakdown on the Russian labor market are the war in Ukraine (which, indirectly in his statement from July this year, was confirmed by Prime Minister Miszustin himself), a strict law limiting the migration of gainful to Russia and the demographic crisis.
Radio freedom reminds that Doctors' deficit in Russia reached such a level that from September 1, in the event of a shortage of specialists, the duties of first contact doctors will be performed by paramedicsabout which RIA Novosti was said by Weronika Wypiecza from the State Duma Committee for Health Protection. Another way to provide medical care is to download doctors from India – Even without knowledge of the Russian language – as Radio Swoboda writes about, citing descriptions of several such cases from cities located in central Siberia.
Russian employers are more and more willing to reach for employees from North Korea, who usually go to the construction site and to the mining plants. – In my experience we have gained while working with various migrants, they are the best – says Pavel Belents, assistant to the president of the board of the development group of the Squadron, in an interview with the “Kommiersant” daily.

– Workers from North Korea work 12-16 hours a day, resting only one day a week. They mainly deal with concrete and facade works, as well as interior finishing – explains Belents.
Analysts expect that by the end of 2025 the number of employees from North Korea on Russian construction sites will get off and reach 50,000 people.
The shortage of workforce is also affected by Russian agriculture. – The crisis on the labor market directly threatens the collections – said in an interview with Agroinvestor Igor Muchain, president of the Russian Gardeners Association. According to him, the shortage of the working force last year led to the loss of part of the collections. In the Krasnodar country, many thousands of tons of apples and blueberries were not able to collect migrants introduced by the authorities.
In the face of staff shortages, the Russian regions have already begun to endure previously introduced bans and restrictions on employing immigrants. This happened, for example, in the Niżnonowogrodzki region, where such a restriction was lifted in just four months of its introduction. The alleviates will also be introduced at federal level. Russian state pride is just finishing work on the provisions releasing foreign employees from the Russian language exam.
Tomasz Dawid Jędruchów (PAP)
TDJ/ MMS/




