The far-reaching – especially economic – consequences of the Russian aggressive war on Ukraine at home are probably not yet foreseeable for the aggressor state. According to a recent survey by the Russian central bank, companies in the country are currently facing a huge staff shortage. It is said that since observations began in 1998, there have never been such major problems.
According to Ukraine, nearly 190,000 Russian soldiers have already been killed or wounded in the fighting initiated by Putin. There are also tens of thousands of young men who have hastily left the country because they fear conscription into the army. The so-called brain drain – that is, leaving behind young, future top performers – can still be very costly for Russian society.
less than 20 percent
A symptom of this is the lack of labor that is so drastic. According to the central bank, the biggest problems are in the manufacturing industry, water supply companies, mining companies and in the field of transport and storage, the Russian daily Kommersant reports.
Especially in the first quarter of 2023, the labor shortage increased rapidly. The central bank’s business monitor shows a minus of 18 percentage points, the lowest value since the start of the survey in 1998. Only in the car trade (-10%), in the wholesale trade (-13%) and in the services sector (- 14%), the minus is still within limits.
Hardly any highly specialized professionals to be seen
The affected companies now face major challenges. They now want to take countermeasures by adjusting salaries and extensive training programs. However, especially in terms of salary, there should be only selective changes – the problem of the lack of highly specialized specialists will not be solved by this.
However, the deficit naturally has a positive effect on the unemployment rate – according to official figures from the Rosstat statistics agency, only 3.5 percent of people were unemployed in February.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
