russia Firing Doctors, Teachers, and Civil Servants

russia’s labor market is quietly collapsing, and the authorities can no longer hide this.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, the number of officially fired workers reached 32,600, which is by 59% more than a year earlier. The most affected sectors were public administration and security (4,900), healthcare (4,600), education (3,800), and manufacturing (3,900). In other words, these are the very sectors that are fed by the state budget.

Noteworthily, private businesses are avoiding official dismissal procedures en masse: people are simply “asked” to write a letter of resignation of their own accord. The statistics, accordingly, looks better than it actually is.

In 2026, things got even worse. moscow’s budget revenues for January-February grew by only 2%, compared to the planned 6.5%. In response, on March 4, the city authorities approved “optimization” – a 15% reduction in civil servants, a 10% cut in the investment program, and freezing of some improvement projects and cultural events.

Even moscow, the city with the largest budget resources in the country, cannot cope.

The federal government, being “in its repertoire”, calls all this “stabilization of the labor market”.  Economists describe the situation differently – russia is moving from a labor shortage to a hidden labor surplus. The demand for workers remains, but almost exclusively in sectors that serve the war.