Top regions experiencing a significant surge in employment growth

Moscow, April 17 – Sevastopol, Tuva and Ingushetia became the leaders in terms of the growth rate of the number of workers among Russian regions in 2022, and the largest negative indicators were in the Penza and Murmansk regions, according to a study by the News Agency *.

According to experts, the year 2022 was favorable for the Russian labor market. Even at the beginning of the year, there were justified concerns about the dynamics of employment against the background of the imposition of Western sanctions, but the economic situation turned out to be much better than the gloomy forecasts, and at the end of the year unemployment fell to a historical low. If at the end of 2021 the unemployment rate was 4.3% (according to the ILO methodology), then at the end of 2022 the unemployment rate in Russia fell to a record low of 3.7%.

Analysts say that job search times have also decreased significantly in 2022. If at the beginning of the year the average time spent by the unemployed was 6.8 months, then in December this figure decreased to 5.9 months. According to the News Agency experts, the fast job search time and low unemployment indicate a noticeable shortage of personnel. Trends in the labor market in the past year were determined, on the one hand, by demographic factors and migration, and on the other hand, by a marked increase in the demand for workers in a number of sectors of the economy, in particular in this area. State defense orders. In general, in Russia in 2022 more than 72 million people had jobs, which is 0.4%, or 0.26 million people, more than in 2021.

To identify regional differences, the News Agency experts conducted another annual study and compiled a fifth rating of regions in terms of labor market dynamics, and for classification purposes it is defined as an increase (decrease) in the number of employees aged 15-72 in 2022 compared to 2021.

According to the results of the study, in 2022 the number of employees increased in 45 regions, and decreased in 40. Experts note that the total increase in employment in regions with positive dynamics amounted to 620 thousand people, which is twice as much as the total decrease in regions that showed a decrease.

In percentage terms, the greatest progress in employment growth in 2022 is observed in Sevastopol (+ 14.6%), the Republic of Tyva (+ 8.5%) and the Republic of Ingushetia (+ 8.1%), which are leaders in the ranking. In general, in 2022, 39 regions of Russia were marked by an increase in the number of employees above average, and 16 regions were marked by an increase of more than 2%.

The Republic of Dagestan becomes the leader in absolute growth in the number of employees in 2022. In this region, over the past year, the number of employees has increased by 92.5 thousand, or 8%. Despite the growth in employment, the unemployment rate in the Republic of Dagestan remains one of the highest in Russia – 12.2% in 2022 (15.1% in the previous year).

The second and third places in absolute growth in the number of employees are occupied by the Altai Territory, which has increased employment by almost 68 thousand people over the year, and the Leningrad Region (+59.4 thousand people). A slightly smaller increase was shown by: the Saratov region (+33 thousand workers), Sevastopol (+32.4 thousand workers) and the Rostov region (+25.4 thousand workers). Also in the top ten in terms of absolute growth in the number of employees are: the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Chechen Republic, the Moscow region and the Stavropol Territory. Overall, the top 10 regions over the past year delivered an increase of just under 400,000 employees.

Analysts say that despite progress in employment dynamics, unemployment remains high in many leaders’ regions. In Ingushetia, the percentage of unemployed people in 2022 will be 28.7%, in Dagestan – 12.2%, and in Karachay-Cherkessia – 9.9%. Analysts note that the growth in employment in these regions is a consequence of the presence of free hands, since unemployment in many other regions of Russia has already fallen below the normal level, and it is almost impossible to increase employment further.

According to the study, Moscow is the leader in terms of the number of employees, with 7.1 million people working. This is actually 10% of the total number of employees in Russia. Just over 4 million people work in the Moscow region, which is the second result among the regions of Russia.

St. Petersburg ranks third in terms of the number of employees – just over 3 million workers. At the same time, the Leningrad region, with a population of 1.02 million people, ranks sixth in terms of the number of employees. Thus, more than 15 million people work in the two largest Russian blocs, that is, more than 20% of all employees.

In three other regions, the number of employed people exceeded 2 million. Almost 2.7 million people work in the Krasnodar Territory, 2.1 million people in the Rostov Region, and just over 2 million people in the Sverdlovsk Region. Overall, more than 1 million people are registered in 23 regions.

Experts believe that we can talk about a high concentration of the labor force in Russia. The top three regions account for more than 21% of the total employees. At the same time, a third of the employees are concentrated in seven regions, and 50% of all employees work in 16 regions of Russia.

According to the study, 40 regions were characterized by a decrease in the number of employees in 2022. At the same time, the reduction in two regions was significant, and the number of employees decreased by more than 3%. In percentage terms, the largest job loss was observed in the Penza and Murmansk regions (-4.7% and -3.2%).

In addition to the above two regions, the bottom five of the rating also includes: Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (-3%), Novgorod Territory (-2.8%) and Krasnoyarsk Territory (-2.8%).

* The rating was prepared by the the News Agency agency by RIA RIA specialists.