The EAEU Will Not Save russia from a Labor Shortage

russia cannot count on resolving its labor crisis with labor resources from the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Despite moscow’s hopes, the Union’s partners face similar problems in the labor market and are therefore unable to compensate for the labor shortage in russia.

The main problem for all EAEU countries is a very similar and vulnerable employment structure. In every country, including russia, the service sector dominates, which is most prone to shadow activity. At the same time, there is an acute shortage of skilled workers in critically important sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, mining, and energy.

Migration within the EAEU is not capable of resolving this problem. On the contrary, the countries of the Union themselves face a shortage of professionals and mostly export to the rf unskilled labor with a low level of education. This turns the russian labor market into a vitious circle with no sources for renewing the human capital.

moscow has effectively reached an impasse in its search for skilled migrants, and instead of “Eurasian solidarity”, the kremlin is receiving yet another confirmation of its own degradation –economic, structural, and managerial.