“Self-employment takes citizens out of labor relations”: the main thing from the interview with the head of the Ministry of Labor

On the popularity of self-employment and its risks

Now young people “are looking more often” as freelancers, because “they want to maintain more freedom in terms of schedules and volume of work,” says Kotyakov. According to him, self-employment “today really distances citizens from their usual employment relationships.”

“The threshold of 10 million people was recently exceeded [самозанятых]and for one in four people this is the only source of income,” the head of the Ministry of Labor told Vedomosti.

At the same time, Kotyakov claims that this type of employment carries risks, including risks to pensions. The self-employed can join voluntary pension insurance, but this option “is not very popular,” the minister told the newspaper. In his opinion, “people do not realize the risks they will face in a few decades.”

The income level of self-employed workers is also worrying, said the head of the Ministry of Labor. In his words, “a third of the self-employed today does not receive income, another part does not even receive the minimum monthly salary (19.2 thousand rubles in 2024). At the same time, Kotyakov is sure that we are not necessarily talking about shadow income: “This may be an unsuccessful attempt to start your own business.”

On staff shortages and their impact on salaries

According to Kotiakov, currently the biggest shortage is of manual workers: millers, welders and mechanics. They also have the highest salary dynamics, the minister noted, adding that the demand for highly qualified workers, mainly engineers, is also growing.

According to the head of the Ministry of Labor, in 2030 the additional need for personnel will be 2.4 million people compared to the base year 2022: “The largest number of specialists will be needed in the manufacturing industry, in addition to almost 540 thousand positions of work. In the field of transportation and storage, more than 260 thousand, in health and social services, more than 270 thousand, in total science and information technology will create almost 170 thousand more jobs.”

Due to the increased demand for personnel, salaries are increasing, although the increase is uneven, the minister told Vedomosti: “There are industries in which salaries have increased by 10% or even 20%, and there are positions for which the salary offer remains practically unchanged. .”

In addition to the salary increase, Kotyakov continues, employers often offer their employees an expanded social package. We are talking about “separate ways to support employees with many children” and additional guarantees “in terms of medical care,” the head of the Ministry of Labor told the newspaper.

About the flow of office employees to other areas

Today, the number of office workers is “gradually decreasing”, among other things because their salaries “do not grow at the same pace as in the real sector,” Kotyakov explained. In his opinion, in particular, there are fewer economists and lawyers.

At the same time, the head of the Ministry of Labor stressed that the flow of personnel “does not occur overnight”: “People will not be able to leave the walls of the office and immediately go to work as a welder or turner.” .

On flexibilities in the Labor Code

According to Kotyakov, “unions and employers agree that today there are norms in the Labor Code that need to be updated.” For example, the Labor Code contains the requirement that an employee can only accept a second part-time job.

“If working conditions allow, perhaps this is not an aspect that we should strictly control and prevent employment opportunities,” the minister told Vedomosti.