Yelena Ivanova
Russian businesses are gradually recovering from the 2020 crisis, according to a study by the international agency Kelly Services, although this is not happening so quickly. 180 managers and personnel officers of the largest Russian and international companies operating in our country have confirmed that the labor market is reviving. 44%, that is, almost half of employers plan to expand the staff of their companies, which is 4% more than in 2020. A third of the companies do not plan any changes, which repeats the situation last year. But the number of companies cutting their staff has significantly decreased. If in 2020 there were 14% of those surveyed, this year only 4% of them remained. But the share of those who have not decided yet has increased. In 2020, 13% of respondents expressed uncertainty, this year their number increased to 19% by 6 points.
There is competition for personnel in the labor market. According to Headhunter, the number of vacancies increased by 12% in April alone. Compared to last year, the number of job advertisements increased by 76%.
“Not only local companies, but also nonresident employers are fighting for scarce specialists, and salary offers in most professional spheres are growing, they are stimulated by competition for personnel”, - Liliya Yesaulenko, head of the press service of HeadHunter Siberia, describes the situation on the labor market. In some industries, the situation became close to 2007, when the generation of the early 90s entered the labor market. The birth rate was then one of the lowest in the post-war history of the country. Now, after the pandemic, there is an excess of deaths over births. The natural population decline in 2021 from January to April was twice as high as in 2020, according to Rosstat, and amounted to 304.5 thousand people. If the trend continues, the population decline will have an impact on the labor market.
In the service sector and the restaurant and hotel business, there are not enough workers, not only because the salaries are not satisfied, but because the working conditions and requirements for the staff are much stricter than, for example, for food delivery workers, and salaries, even with given a tip comparable and in delivery even higher. Labor market analysts point to a shortage of migrants, which has become one of the important consequences of the pandemic on the economy. As a result, the number of resumes in the tourism industry has not yet reached even last year's level.
For workers, wages remain one of the most important incentives to change jobs. In a competitive environment, 63% of firms plan to index wages. Every fifth company is ready to raise the salaries of all employees. Of these, 20% plan to increase by 4%, another 20% - by 5-6%. Only 6% of employers will index salaries by 7% . Thus, the indexation will affect about half of the enterprises, and it will be higher than the average inflation in the country, although no one will cover the food inflation of 8%.
17% of firms want to index salaries selectively, and every fifth employer has not decided whether to increase salary costs.
16% of respondents answered that they do not plan to index. Last year, 45% of firms refused to increase payments to their employees.
While firms are deciding what to do with wages, the real wages of Russians in the first quarter of 2021 increased by only 1.6% , while last year over the same period it grew 5 times more - by 6.2%, says Rosstat...
The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade is very restrained in forecasting the average growth of real wages in 2021. According to the ministry, it will not exceed 2.2%.
According to a Kelly Services survey, two-thirds of companies are looking not just for anyone, but for specialists of different levels. Now companies have begun to miss top managers, the demand for which has more than doubled compared to last year.
Employers again started hiring for initial positions - 25% of respondents confirmed this, last year only 4% of firms needed plankton. This is good news for young professionals. The situation with mid-level specialists is worse - the demand for their services fell from 19% to 7% of all requests.
On the other hand, the trend of a shortage of workers in the manufacturing sector remains, although it has decreased, compared to 2020, by a third - from 33% to 22% in 2021. Judging by the fact that sales managers are now in second place in terms of demand, it can be concluded that trade and client ties are being restored. The top three are blue-collar jobs and unskilled personnel. Developers and programmers are missing 8% of enterprises, sellers - 7%, IT specialists, marketers, advertisers and PR specialists - 4% each.
What employers value most in employees is versatility and the ability to resolve difficult situations, as well as the ability to work in teams and interact with people. Employers consider flexibility and the ability to achieve their goals as important qualities.
The pandemic has changed not only the demands of workers for wages, but also the working conditions, so two-thirds of employers offer a hybrid work format, when employees can work both in the office and from home. A third of companies insist on working in the office, and only 4% have completely switched to telecommuting. On average, only one in 10 new employees can work from home 70% of the time. Half can use the remote only occasionally, no more than one day a week.
Recruiters say good candidates today have multiple job offers, and salary is still the deciding factor. According to the survey, not all companies are ready to raise it. This means that those who do not invest in human capital will lose. Judging by the demographics, it will only get worse in the future, and there will be even fewer new workers, especially good ones.