russia’s Civilian Industry Is in Decline: Defense Industry Has Swallowed up the Labor Market

In the Altai Territory of the rf, demand for workers in civilian industry has decreased sharply – companies are halting production, cutting staff, and reducing salaries. Overall, in the first nine months of 2025, the number of job openings and updated vacancies in the region decreased by 23 % compared to the same period in 2024. At this, the number of new or updated resumes increased by 41 %. In particular, the number of vacancies in the industrial sector has decreased by 6 % since the beginning of 2025.

The main reason is the decline in the production of civilian products and a decrease in investment activity. In just eight months of 2025, industrial production in the region decreased by 3.2 %.

This trend has been evident at the national level for a long time. For example, russia’s heavy and automotive industries are cutting back on civilian production and switching employees to a four-day work week. The situation is the worst in the machine-building, chemical, and metallurgical industries. At the same time, the defense industry remains the only sector that continues to hire workers.

In fact, the defense industry is “draining” resources and personnel from the “civilian” economy, leaving it without development and prospects. Regions are living solely on military orders, which means that an inevitable reduction in war funding will result in the russian economy’s deep crisis.