The number of Russian self-employed increased from 2 million to 6 million

Elena Popova, head of human resources at the FinExpertiza audit and consulting network, believes that the “explosive growth” in the number of self-employed workers is also associated with “laundering of the labor market,” writes TASS.

At the same time, the expert is certain that companies will not massively transfer employees to self-employment in an attempt to optimize payroll costs.

The FinExpertiza representative also emphasized that the self-employment regime “allows people to participate in business activities even in times of crisis and minimizes the tax burden”.

For this reason, he believes, the growth in the number of self-employed workers may be linked to the desire of micro-enterprises and individual entrepreneurs to switch to a more favorable tax regime for them.

In turn, the expert does not mention in any way the forced transition to self-employment and the review of labor relations with employers of those employees who left the country from February to October 2022.

On the other hand, Popova points out that we can continue to expect an increase in the number of freelancers, since this regime is very popular among the staff: “Many work part-time as freelancers in addition to their day jobs.”

According to the Federal Tax Service, at the end of January 2022 there were 4 million self-employed workers, at the end of November 2021 – 3.5 million, in January 2021 – only 1.6 million, that is, not only the number of self-employed is increasing, but so is the growth rate.