Retailers have started hiring general workers due to staff shortages.

According to experts, employers are suffering from staff shortages, particularly among young professionals, immigrants and warehouse workers. To attract staff, retailers are introducing flexible hours and large retail chains are offering better benefits packages, corporate events and training programs.

Companies are also increasingly trying to hire employees with Russian citizenship. The reasons are several: the increasing salary expectations among immigrants and the difficulties in hiring them due to additional controls and the language barrier. Furthermore, the trend can be explained by the fact that in several Russian regions immigrants are prohibited from working in trade, according to the study.

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The study also says the retail labor shortage has begun to worsen in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the more global reasons, the authors pointed out the demographic hole of the 90s, the flow of people to the zone of the military operation in Ukraine, the departure of immigrants due to the weakening of the ruble and the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall. in March, as well as the growth of underemployment and self-employment.

To attract employees, retailers should raise wages and introduce flexible hours, researchers say. Companies also need to invest in training: the better trained employees are, the easier it will be to solve problems, the authors concluded.

According to a joint study by PEC and hh.ru, in the first half of 2024, the staff shortage in retail trade exceeded one million people. In October, the first deputy general director of the X5 group (which also owns Pyaterochka, Perekrestok and Chizhik), Vladimir Salakhutdinov, cited the figure of 500,000 employees, including in the logistics sector.