Informal Employment in Modern Russia: Old Problems and New Realities

Abstract

Despite the serious measures taken in the country to reduce informal employment, this area remains a significant segment of the Russian labor market. At the same time, both the terminology used and the quantitative parameters of informal employment remain unclear. In recent years, the problem of informal employment in Russia has become more acute due to the active and noticeably accelerated development of information and communication technologies and the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of new forms of non-standard employment, such as freelancing, platform employment, self-employment, outstaffing, etc. These forms do not yet have a clear and unambiguous interpretation, but they also have a significant “shadow” component. Currently, large-scale economic sanctions have been added to the existing problems, giving rise to the so-called "sanctions crisis", the impact of which on all segments of the domestic labor market, including its informal part, may be significant and ambiguous. In conclusion, the article draws attention to the need to develop a clear interpretation of the term "informal employment" as well as clear distinction and regulation of the statuses of platform employment, freelancing, and self-employment, also in order to provide the relevant categories of workers with social guarantees. In connection with the problem under consideration, a critical analysis of the proposals developed by the Russian Ministry of Labor and Social Protection for a new law on employment in the Russian Federation has been carried out.