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- Society and labor reserves: May holidays have dispersed the temporary employment market
Society and labor reserves: May holidays have dispersed the temporary employment market
Before the long weekend in May, the temporary employment market warmed up — the number of vacancies offering part-time work exceeded 21 thousand in April, Izvestia found out. This is a third more than last year. Employers are most often looking for couriers and sales clerks. At the same time, they are willing to pay increased rates on holidays: for example, a handyman can receive about 5 thousand rubles for a shift in Moscow, a welder — from 8 thousand, and a pastry chef — from 10 thousand rubles. The shortage of personnel pushes businesses to temporary employment as the most expeditious solution. However, for some Russians, the May holidays remain a time for rest: long weekends allow you to extend your vacation, albeit at the cost of lost income. How much you can lose on this is in the Izvestia article.
How much money can you get for a part-time job during the May holidays
The business has stepped up the search for temporary employees for the May holidays. On the eve of the long weekend, the number of vacancies with similar offers has traditionally increased. A study of the recruitment platform showed this. hh.ru conducted at the request of Izvestia.
Since the beginning of April, over 21,000 vacancies have been opened with the possibility of part-time work. Compared to last year, the demand for temporary employees in the labor market has increased by a third. At the same time, the number of offers jumped by 60% compared to March.
In the first quarter of 2026, employers' interest in temporary employees increased by 46% compared to last year.
This year, the number of vacancies has increased significantly compared to the previous year, mainly due to a change in the approach to hiring. Companies have switched to targeted recruitment for part-time jobs and flexible schedules, as they have abandoned mass recruitment and salary increases, said the deputy CEO of the Work service.<url>" by Alexander Veterkov. The market as a whole is turning in favor of the employer: the previous trend towards an increase in the number of vacancies and salaries is weakening, the expert added.
Vacancies with part—time jobs are placed by enterprises in the service sector - precisely those areas where demand is traditionally high during the holidays: food delivery, taxi, retail, marketplaces, said Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global. Accordingly, they need more additional staff to complete their orders on time. In addition, part-time job seekers are easier to arrange: most often we are talking about a GPH contract or cooperation with the self-employed, while applicants for full-time positions, even temporary ones, may insist on a full-fledged employment contract, she added.
According to the data hh.ru This spring, employers are most often looking for couriers (23% of the total number of active vacancies), as well as sales clerks (19%). As the SuperJob press service told Izvestia, there are currently the most vacancies for part-time jobs in delivery, retail, real estate operation, logistics and catering.
The May holidays will last six days this year. In honor of Labor Day, May 1, 2, and 3 will be closed. Victory Day will be celebrated on May 9th, 10th and 11th.
— The increase in the number of part—time jobs during the May holidays is a natural effect of long weekends and a seasonal surge in demand in a number of industries. For people, this is an opportunity to monetize their free time without giving up their main job, especially against the background of pressure on real incomes, and for businesses it is a quick way to close staff shortages during peak workloads," said Yaroslav Kabakov, Director of Strategy at Finam IC.
He added: in such segments as retail, catering, logistics, delivery and tourism, the demand for temporary employees is traditionally at its maximum, which also pushes up the level of pay. On average, part—time work on holidays brings from several thousand rubles per shift, and for all the May holidays you can earn a noticeable increase in income, especially with a busy schedule, the expert added.
Izvestia studied the vacancies for part-time jobs. For example, according to hh.ru In Moscow, for a shift as a driver, handyman or nurse, you can get about 5 thousand rubles, a welder — from 8 thousand, a pastry chef — from 10 thousand, a specialist in kitchen assembly — 15 thousand.
There are more unusual jobs. For example, in one day, an assistant to an animal care worker in a mini-zoo is promised 2 thousand, a restorer — 6 thousand. At the same time, vacancies and the level of remuneration differ by region. According to SuperJob, in Penza, an order picker can receive 3.4–5.5 thousand in one day, and a bicycle courier in Stavropol — 2.5–4 thousand.
The average remuneration offered for a shift at a part-time job in the first quarter was about 5.7 thousand rubles, which is 14% more than last year, according to Avito Part-time Job data. And the highest pay for temporary employees in a taxi is more than 8.1 thousand per shift. The hotel business is also in the top (over 6.1 thousand rubles) and delivery, freight transportation and logistics (5.9 thousand per shift).
Surge of interest in temporary employees
The number of shift-based offers in the retail and wholesale trade increased especially noticeably at the beginning of this year: performers are 2.5 times more often searched for here. The catering sector is also increasing the need for temporary staff: part-time jobs were offered 2.3 times more often (+132%) in the first quarter of this year than in the past. Warehouses and storage facilities are among the three industries with the highest demand for part-time shift workers (+83%). However, they are actively looking for temporary event organizers in the field of telecommunications services.
Russians are increasingly attracted by the possibility of receiving remuneration immediately after the end of a shift or almost immediately, Sergey Yaskin, director of the Avito Part-time Job service, drew attention.
— In the first quarter of 2026, there was a particularly noticeable increase in interest in this type of employment in the Belgorod (+141%), Kurgan (+123%) and Pskov (+112%) regions. This is beneficial to both sides: businesses can quickly manage the team's resources, and performers can increase income by working on a schedule that is convenient for them," he said.
According to a survey conducted by Avito Part-time Jobs and Avito Advertising, almost half of the respondents are considering temporary employment in May. Of these, 19% of respondents prefer to be on duty or take on additional tasks at their main place of work. 16% are interested in earning extra money in delivery, taxi and transportation, while others (14%) they want to enter the field of household services — repair, cleaning, furniture assembly. At the same time, applicants are willing to spend about five hours a day and want to receive up to 20 thousand rubles.
Izvestia appealed to the Ministry of Labor with a request to assess the popularity of part-time jobs over the May weekend.
Why is it unprofitable to take a vacation in May?
If some Russians are going to work part-time during the May holidays, others are not ready to sacrifice their rest. According to "Work.<url>", one in five plans to go on vacation. In May 2026, it is profitable to take it only for non-financial reasons to extend the holidays, said Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global.
From an economic point of view, May is unprofitable for holidays due to the small number of working days. In total, there are 12 days off (or 39% of the total number of days in a month) with 19 working days.
The fewer working days in a month, the more you get paid for each such day — that is, the salary is divided by the number of working days. And during the vacation, the employee will receive an average daily salary. That is, if an employee takes a vacation in May, he will have a fairly large loss in salary, even if the vacation is officially paid in accordance with labor legislation, Natalia Milchakova explained. If, for example, a person takes a two-week paid vacation, then according to the results of the last spring month (even taking into account paid vacation pay) there is a risk of losing about 5% of salary, she noted. With piecework payment, the employee will also not receive part of the income.
It is most profitable to take a vacation in those months with the maximum number of working days. For example, in 2026, this is July, and there will be 23 such days. At the same time, considering that there are 22 working days in April this year, it was quite successful to take a vacation from April 27 to April 30 and get the opportunity to actually rest for nine days in a row.
This year, May is just as unfavorable a month for taking a vacation as January: there were 16 holidays or days off. In second place are March, August and November (10 rest days each). Tatiana Ushkats, an expert at the RUDN University Faculty of Economics, concluded: an employee will always have a choice based on priorities — to spend time with his family or earn money.
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