The Ministry of Industry and Commerce called delivery services a threat to the economy.

According to Kuznetsov, at least 1.5 million couriers currently work in Russia, as well as approximately 500,000 packers, order pickers and other delivery people. These are “healthy and physically strong people” who are lacking in other economic sectors, the official said.

“That is, unprofitable services extract a resource as scarce as labor from other sectors of the economy, including productive ones. In fact, these forces come from sectors of the economy that are still profitable or from those that can grow,” Kuznetsov emphasized.

He added that delivery services “weaned a significant portion of consumers from the banal ability of simply shopping.”

According to the official, the lack of personnel is a key problem in the areas of industry and commerce. “Where is wealth generated? As is known in economics, in industry. How is it possible for a courier to earn 120-150 thousand rubles in Moscow? Not to mention that he is more than a university professor,” Kuznetsov noted.

Without intervention, he warned, some of the currently profitable segments of the Russian economy could become unprofitable.

Previously, RB.RU, referring to Superjob data, wrote that personnel shortages are most noticeable in manual industries and in the IT sector. According to experts, the three industries with the highest demand for employees include industry and manufacturing, construction, design and real estate, and retail.