Regional labour market of the Republic of Tyva: trends and challenges

Abstract

The paper discusses the main parameters of the labour market of the Republic of Tyva, that are the system-forming factors of the region's economy. The analysed data were obtained from the results of two empirical studies conducted in the Republic of Tyva (2019 and 2021) by the Center for the Study of Social Structure and Social Stratification of the Institute of Sociology of the FCTAS RAS under the guidance of prof. Z.T. Golenkova, PhD. These research projects were carried out in various time phases of the functioning of the Republican labour market: the pre-crisis period (2019) and the crisis period of the COVID-19 epidemic (2021). It can be said that the 2021 study was the first record of the reaction of the regional labour market to the transformation of the economic system caused by the pandemic. The pandemic most of all affected the physical condition of the population - a fifth of the respondents had been ill with COVID-19. The study did not reveal signs of large-scale social conflicts in the labour sphere. Those who lost their jobs or liquidated their business amount to no more than 6%. Neither mass layoffs of employees nor a large-scale reduction in the number of entrepreneurs took place in the region during the period of the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, the level of registered unemployment increased in 2021 compared to 2019 by almost 10%. One of the main reasons for the growth of this indicator, as the authors believe, is the significantly increased volume of social transfers for officially registered unemployed during this period. The article also provides quantitative indicators of the labour market and compares the key indicators of the labour market model in dynamics - the level of economic activity, employment and unemployment (official and unregistered). Particular attention is paid to assessing the prevalence of various types of informal employment. It is shown that the entrepreneurial initiative of the population is a kind of guarantor of the desired level of material income, orientation towards anti-paternalistic attitudes. The authors also made an attempt to calculate the total pool of the most active labour market actors and their adaptation strategies. The authors come to the conclusion that the market model has demonstrated sustainability and stability in response to the external impacts of the crisis.