Russia faces labour shortage in non-defence sectors due to war – UK Intelligence

The shortage of workers in Russia's non-defence industries has increased due to mobilisation and conscription, especially in the IT sector after the massive departure of specialists from the country.

Source: European Pravda, referring to the UK Ministry of Defence’s review on 11 September

Quote: "Russia's conscription continues to have negative effects on its industry workforce. The Yegor Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy found that Russia's industry shortage of workers reached a new high of 42% for July 2023, 7% higher from April 2023."

Details: UK analysts have noted that the Russian military intends to recruit 420,000 contract soldiers by the end of 2023. On 3 September, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, said that 280,000 people had been recruited so far. These figures cannot be independently verified.

Unlike conscription in other industries, Russia has taken steps to retain its workforce in the IT sector. 

This likely highlights a particularly acute shortage in the sector after about 100,000 IT workers left Russia in 2022. This represents 10% of the IT sector's workforce.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on 4 September to up the conscription exemption age for IT specialists from 27 to 30.

UK intelligence believes that this is evidence that mobilisation and conscription in Russia have exacerbated the labour shortage in non-defence sectors.

It also points out that on the eve of the presidential elections in Russia scheduled for March 2024, the Russian authorities are likely to try to avoid further unpopular mobilisations.

Background:

Earlier, UK intelligence reported that Russia was recruiting migrants from Central Asia to fight in the war to cover its losses.

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