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Labor Markets of Urban Agglomerations in Russia

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Abstract—The article analyzes the current state of the labor market in Russia’s largest urban agglomerations. The zonal model of agglomeration (out of three elements) is applied to consider the indicator of official jobs security (formal employment) and wage level, as well as their differences with distance from the center. For this, tax reporting data from the Federal Tax Service are used that most fully characterize the state of the labor market and span the full range of enterprises and organizations. The balance method (ratio of supply and demand for labor) of existing disparities in the well-being and wage was used to assess all agglomerations in terms of the relative and absolute potential for labor migration development. A strong differentiation in the structure of the labor market in Russian agglomerations is demonstrated. The situation in the center of an agglomeration in the main turns out to be much better than on its periphery; however, cases of various combined indicators up to inversion are possible, when the center of an agglomeration lags behind its environs both in job saturation and wages. Based on the combination of these indicators, 12 groups of agglomerations were identified for which the need for a differentiated policy is substantiated. The policy is considered in more detail with a case study of four polar groups. The necessity of improving the legislative framework for managing labor market development in agglomerations is substantiated, which does not correspond to the challenges and needs posed by the current situation.

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Notes

  1. It is also necessary to stipulate that the belt models used for the Moscow and St. Petersburg agglomerations are somewhat rough, since their delimitation is based on the 2-h isochron of transport accessibility, but actual labor migrations spread far beyond its limits.

  2. Data for 2017 and 2018 are also currently available. However, comparison of the data for 2016 and 2017–2018 indicates a change in methodology for accounting for taxpayers and their deductions, most clearly visible in municipalities with large military contingents and in closed administrative-territorial units (ZATO in Russian) of the Russian Defense Ministry. Therefore, in order to exclude the subjective factor, 2016 data are used as the most complete to assess the internal structure.

  3. To calculate the wage level, data on income code 2000 are used (for a breakdown, see Order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia N ММВ-7-11/387@ of September 10, 2014 (as amended on October 24, 2017) On approval of codes for types of income and deductions).

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Funding

The study was carried out under the state-ordered research theme of the Institute of Geography RAS, no. 0148-2019-0008 (AAAA-A19-119022190170-1) “Problems and Prospects of Russia’s Territorial Development in Terms of Its Unevenness and Global Instability.”

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  1. Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119017, Moscow, Russia

    E. V. Antonov

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Correspondence to E. V. Antonov.

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The article was addended by the author in 2021 for publication in the journal Regional Research of Russia.

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Antonov, E.V. Labor Markets of Urban Agglomerations in Russia. Reg. Res. Russ. 11, 187–198 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079970521020027

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