Russian companies are increasingly hiring candidates over 50 years old

In 2024, demand for candidates of retirement age increased by 14% compared to 2023, according to data from the Rabota.ru personnel selection service. The largest increase in vacancies was observed in the IT sector (2.8 times), transport and logistics, call center and retail trade (+55.8%), as well as in culture and education (+55%).

For example, in 2023, the Magnit retail chain launched an advertising campaign “Jobs for young people over 60”. According to the retailer, the campaign helped attract 35,000 older employees to work by the end of 2024.

The mechanical engineering company Power Machines gathered more than 400 production specialists over 50 years of age in 2023, and in 2024 it began to actively invite those who had already retired.

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According to human resources specialists, the main driver of demand is staff shortages. It has been trained in several fields over the past five years against the backdrop of a demographic hole in the 1990s, Natalya Danina, chief labor market expert and head of client efficiency at HeadHunter, told Forbes.

He added that by the end of 2020, the “smaller” generation of workers had entered the market (4.5 million people between 15 and 24 years old, up from 4.7 million in 2019).

In December, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak estimated Russia’s labor shortage at around 1.5 million people. The debate focused mainly on the construction and transport sectors, as well as the housing and communal services sector. By 2030, the personnel shortage may increase to 2 million people, Svetlana Chupsheva, director general of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, said the same month.