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- Emergency situation: the number of job seekers has increased 1.5 times in more than a year
Emergency situation: the number of job seekers has increased 1.5 times in more than a year
Russians have become more likely to stay out of work for more than a year. The number of those who cannot find a job for such a long time has increased almost 1.5 times — to about 226 thousand, "Izvestia" found out. With a continuing shortage of personnel in manufacturing, construction, and the working professions, competition for many office vacancies, on the contrary, is intensifying. Young people and people of pre-retirement age are looking for work longer than others. Among the professions that face such difficulties are sales managers, administrators, and service sector employees. The situation is affected by low salaries in available vacancies, the spread of AI and the cooling of the labor market. Why the personnel shortage does not save from long—term unemployment - in the material "Izvestia".
How long have Russians been looking for work?
In July 2026, about 13.3% of the unemployed could not find a job for a year or more, according to a Rosstat report available to "Izvestia". A year earlier, the share was significantly lower — 9.7%. These Russians are in a state of stagnant unemployment, that is, they remain on the labor exchange for a long time and cannot receive benefits. It is paid for only six months. This summer, the number of such citizens reached about 226 thousand.
The average duration of job search in July 2026 was 5.1 months (for women - 5.6 months, for men — 4.4), "Izvestia" was informed in Rosstat. Compared to June, it decreased slightly — then it was 5.3 months. In 2025, the indicator ranged from 4.6 to 5.7 months, the ministry said.
At the same time, unemployment in Russia remains at record lows. In July, it was 2.3%.
There is a shortage of personnel in production, in construction, as well as among representatives of working professions, while competition for many office positions is growing, explained the partner of the Agency for Economic Transformation and Development (APRE) Victoria Pavlushina. According to her, it is now difficult to find jobs, for example, for secretaries, administrators and sales managers.
A long hiring process can also have an impact, says Anna Khripchenko, Director of Academic and Career Development for students at the Presidential Academy. Previously, two or three interview stages were enough to accept an employee, but now additional testing is being added. And the time between the different stages has increased up to two or three months. In addition, additional checks are being introduced for candidates at the final stages. For example, from the security service. In the civil service, they can last up to six months, the expert noted.
Also, among those who have been looking for work for a long time, the proportion of Russians who do not need quick employment or are extremely selective may be growing, the All-Russian Research Institute of Labor told "Izvestia". They recalled that this is happening in conditions of persistently low unemployment (about 1.7 million people), when the number of available vacancies exceeds the number of applicants (about 1.85 million vacancies).
In addition, 25.6% of Russians looking for work are employed in one to three months, the All–Russian Research Institute of Labor added. Their share has not changed since July last year.
Why is the job search time longer?
One of the main reasons for the growth of hidden unemployment is the increasing difficulties in the segment of small and medium—sized businesses, says Andrey Glushkin, managing partner of the Main Division and member of the General Council of "Business Russia".
Businesses in this sector are increasingly closing down under the pressure of high key interest rates, expensive loans and declining consumer demand, he said. As a result, more people enter the labor market, forced to look for a new place.
— At the same time, the effect of hidden unemployment is increasing. The share of employees who have been transferred to part-time jobs or are in forced downtime is estimated at 14-16% of those employed in large and medium-sized enterprises. In other words, companies prefer not to fire people directly, but to reduce their workload," Andrei Glushkin pointed out.
At the same time, the key structural cause of stagnant unemployment is the widening gap between the skills of job seekers and the requirements of employers, the expert believes. The shortage of personnel in the country remains acute, but mainly concerns narrow competencies. And the qualifications of many applicants do not meet the current business demand.
So, some candidates do not have enough knowledge of technical programs, says Anna Khripchenko from the Presidential Academy. All this is happening against the background of the rapid growth of artificial intelligence.
Employers in general have become more selective, Andrey Glushkin is sure. They are now less willing to invest in long-term training for newcomers, preferring to hire people who are able to immediately produce results.
In addition, the trend may be reinforced by the optimization of employment in the budgetary and administrative sectors, according to Victoria Pavlushina from ATRE. There were 105,000 people on the reduction lists by April 1, 2026, compared to 74,000 in the summer of 2025, the expert noted.
The slowdown in the pace of job creation is also affecting, while competition for them is growing, added Tatiana Ushkats, an expert at the RUDN University Faculty of Economics. In some regions, an excess of labor resources is combined with a shortage in others, which makes it more difficult for people to find work in the local market.
For example, this is noticeable in the regions of the Russian Federation with a stagnant labor market. For example, in the Jewish Autonomous Region and the republics of the North Caucasus, even the average job search period exceeds six months, Andrei Glushkin noted.
Who is the hardest person to find a job for
The most vulnerable group remains young people, according to Andrey Glushkin from "Business Russia". There are several reasons for this — inflated salary expectations of graduates who are not ready to grow from their starting positions for years, mass withdrawal into shadow employment and freelancing, as well as the unwillingness of employers to invest in training newcomers, the expert explained.
People of pre-retirement and older age, women with young children, Russians with disabilities, as well as those who have not worked for a long time after their maternity leave remain at increased risk, says Tatiana Ushkats from RUDN University.
Andrey Glushkin also singled out employees of small and medium-sized businesses, especially in the retail and service sectors. These sectors are most sensitive to declining consumer demand and high borrowing costs. These are the conditions currently prevailing in the market.
According to Tatiana Ushkats, in order to reduce hidden unemployment, it is important to develop retraining and professional retraining programs, as well as strengthen mobility support.
"However," Narmina Borisova, Associate Professor of the Basic Department of the Kapitany Charitable Foundation for Educational Programs "Innovative Management and Social Entrepreneurship" at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, reminded. According to her, there are programs for the elderly, as well as government-funded career guidance courses. If a person lacks qualifications or certain knowledge, then additional training can be provided. There remains an option to change the field of activity.
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