The British government believes that the Russian economy is likely facing a shortage of thousands of skilled workers.

Russland fehlen wegen des Angriffskriegs gegen die Ukraine Tausende Fachkräfte – nach britischer Einschätzung wird das zunehmend zum Problem. Die Mobilmachung und die Wehrpflicht hätten den Arbeitskräftemangel außerhalb des Verteidigungssektors verschärft, teilte das britische Verteidigungsministerium am Montag beim Kurznachrichtendienst X (vormals Twitter) mit.

So habe der Arbeitermangel in der Industrie im Juli einen Rekord erreicht, schrieb das Ministerium unter Berufung auf Zahlen des Jegor-Gaidar-Instituts für Wirtschaftspolitik.

In the past year, approximately 100,000 IT professionals have left Russia. This accounts for approximately ten percent of the workforce in the industry, as stated in the daily update by the British. Unlike recruitment efforts in other sectors, Russia has now taken measures to retain its workforce. In September, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree raising the age limit for recruiting IT specialists from 27 to 30 years old.

Dies zeige, dass die Mobilisierung und die Wehrpflicht in Russland den Mangel an Arbeitskräften außerhalb des Verteidigungssektors verschärft haben.

The British wrote that Russian authorities will likely try to avoid further unpopular mobilizations ahead of the scheduled presidential election in March 2024.

However, the development of the Russian economy does not indicate that the shortage of skilled workers weakens it significantly. The search for labor leads to an increase in real wages. In July, for example, real wage growth was at 10.5 percent compared to the previous year. Satisfaction resulting from higher earnings, in turn, could benefit the Russian government.