Structural Changes in the Russian Labour Market at the time of COVID-19

The aim of the work is to assess the structural changes in the Russian labor market for the period 2019-2022. The reactions of the market to short-term negative shocks (COVID -19, the sanction crisis of 2022), as well as their impact on long-term trends, are analyzed. Using calculations and regression analysis based on the Rosstat data, numerous key structural indicators are studied – labor supply and demand, unemployment, education, informal and remote employment, job creation and elimination, wage levels. Following the results obtained, the labor market in Russia is moving towards more digital and flexible work options. While some trends like high employees demand, low unemployment and predominance of eliminated jobs over created ones persist, recent crises have accelerated changes in the issue of employment and wages. The results demonstrate the increasing number of people involved in the scientific research and IT industry with the decrease of the working staff and managers. The increased demand for IT specialists called for higher wages in these sphere as well, while working professionals are offered lower payment. Moreover, the changes affected the dynamic by type of employment - a decrease in informal employment with a simultaneous increase in the proportion of remote workers. The results obtained made it possible to develop recommendations for adapting the labor market to structural changes and predict the dynamics of further development.