60% of companies do not have enough staff, 75% raised pay due to a shortage of staff – Kommersant

The demand for labor in Russia in the first half of 2023 increased markedly as a result of the growth of import-substituting industries and government orders. report Central Bank (CB) “Regional economy: GU comments”. As follows from the Central Bank survey, 60% of companies reported a shortage of employees, most of them lack qualified specialists. At least 75% of companies have raised wages to keep employees.

According to the results of polls by the Central Bank, the workforce utilization in industry has reached a maximum in the entire history of observations. According to the surveyed enterprises, the main reasons for the growth in demand for labor are the expansion of production due to the withdrawal of foreign companies from the market and the growth of government orders.

Almost 80% of the companies surveyed by the Central Bank reported problems with hiring personnel. Among the difficulties, they named a mismatch in the level of qualifications and inflated salary expectations of applicants.

The labor force has grown slightly, resulting in a growing shortage of personnel. According to the Central Bank, most of all employees are missing in manufacturing industries, primarily in mechanical engineering and the chemical industry.

According to Rosstat, the unemployment rate fell to a historic low of 3% in July. As stated in the report of the Central Bank, for six months of 2023, the number of labor force in Russia grew by only 100 thousand people, which is less than the growth in the needs of enterprises. The increase in the labor force was ensured by labor migration.

“In the context of a shortage of personnel, in order to retain and attract employees, enterprises actively increased wages. The increase in wages, in turn, led to increased inflationary pressure,” the Central Bank said in a report.

Since January 2023, 75% of companies have increased employee salaries to retain staff. In some companies, wages were increased by 20-27%. Another 30% of companies are going to raise salaries by the end of 2023. Wages grew the least in the current year at trade enterprises, the service sector, mining and agriculture.

The Central Bank also noted the flow of personnel between industries. Specialists employed in the areas of trade, services and agriculture moved to the manufacturing industry and construction. “The manufacturing industry has become the main recipient industry, attracting labor resources from other sectors of the economy, in most macroregions. This is due to the fact that the industry saw the largest increase in wages against the backdrop of an increase in the number of orders,” the Central Bank said in a report.

Bank of Russia informedthat since the beginning of 2023, the industry has recorded the lowest staffing over the past 25 years. According to Rostrud, in early August, 1.9 million vacancies were opened on the Jobs in Russia portal, but they closed very slowly. Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov saidthat abnormally low unemployment hinders the development of the Russian economy.

Olesya Pavlenko