Problems of Labor Supply in the Russian Economy under Structural Transformation

This article examines current problems of labor supply in the Russian national economy under structural transformation. It examines the main trends in the formation and utilization of the country's labor potential, driven by demographic changes, a declining working-age population, territorial and professional-skill differentiation of the workforce, and changes in the sectoral structure of employment. It is established that between 2000 and 2025, the unemployment rate in the Russian Federation decreased from 10.6% to 2.2%, and the number of unemployed by 2025 will be 1,679,000, a 4.6-fold decrease compared to 2000. It is shown that the decline in unemployment to minimal levels is accompanied by a reduction in the available labor force and an increasing labor shortage. The employment structure by type of economic activity is analyzed. The largest share of employment is in wholesale and retail trade (18.45%), followed by manufacturing (14.4%), construction (9.3%), transportation and storage (8.1%), education (7.3%), healthcare (6.2%), and agriculture and forestry (5.8%). A significant difference in average wages between men and women was identified, with the smallest gap in education (6.1%) and the largest in information and communications (35%). At the same time, the ratio of wages between the top 10% and bottom 10% of workers decreased from 34 times in 2000 to 12.7 times in 2025. It is argued that the current labor force shortage problem is primarily structural in nature and requires increased labor productivity, technological modernization, the development of digitalization, and improved mechanisms for training and deployment of personnel