Trade, healthcare, and industry topped the list of sectors with a critical shortage of personnel in the first half of 2025, writes "Siberia.Realities"* citing a study by hh.ru.
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin also announced a shortage of more than two million workers in Russia, citing among the reasons the "consequences of the demographic failure" and "the transfer of labor to the military-industrial complex" after the start of the war.
Alexander Vaino, son of the head of the Russian Presidential Administration Anton Vaino, director of the "Young Professionals" direction of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, stated that the growing labor shortage in construction leads to a situation where in 5-7 years there will simply be no one to build houses. According to him, the situation is catastrophic in industry, construction, and agriculture.
Veronika Vlasova, a member of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection, told RIA Novosti that due to the shortage of doctors, from September 1, paramedics and midwives will be able to perform the duties of district doctors, particularly therapists, pediatricians, and obstetricians-gynecologists, in case of a shortage of specialists or their temporary absence.
Even the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs faced an acute shortage of personnel. In this regard, the requirements for investigators were simplified, and now a higher education diploma is not required for this.
The problem with personnel is being solved by attracting foreign specialists from India, Sri Lanka, and North Korea. Andrey Besedin, head of the Ural Chamber of Commerce and Industry, reported that Russia could attract about a million labor migrants from India by the end of 2025 to fill the shortage of qualified personnel, especially in the Ural industry.
At the June real estate forum "Movement," it was announced that by the end of 2025, the number of workers from the DPRK on Russian construction sites will triple and reach 50,000 people. Workers from the DPRK work 12-16 hours a day and rest only one day a week. Mainly, they are involved in monolithic and facade work, as well as interior finishing.
In agriculture, the personnel crisis has affected several regions at once and directly threatens the harvest. According to Igor Mukhanin, president of the Gardeners' Association, the labor shortage has already caused part of the harvest to die last year.
* Recognized in Russia as a "foreign agent" and "undesirable" organization.