The wage race slows down in Tatarstan’s labour market
Amid a labour shortage, companies will have to increase workforce productivity, automate processes and invest in staff training
The situation on the labour market in Tatarstan this year has not been as acute as in 2023. For 10 months, the republic has been recording a labour shortage, but since autumn the situation has begun to change for the better — the number of applicants is growing. The market is still heterogeneous, and in a number of industries — retail and blue-collar jobs — there is still an acute shortage of hands, while in the areas of marketing, mass media, art and senior management, on the contrary, there is a high level of competition. Read about how the labour market is transforming and what employers should prepare for in 2025 in a review of the analytical staff of Realnoe Vremya.
Four CVs per vacancy
Traditionally, activity on the labour market begins to increase in the fall, since the new business season starts in September and companies begin to prepare plans for the coming year. On the Russian market, competition today is 3.9 CVs per vacancy, and this is the highest figure since the beginning of 2024. We consider four resumes per vacancy to be the norm, so the personnel shortage remains, but it has become less acute, Director of hh.ru in the Volga area Albina Sultanova told Realnoe Vremya.
The most acute shortage of personnel, as in the previous month, according to the company, is observed in the retail sector (only 1.3 CVs per vacancy). There is also a shortage of workers in the automobile business (2.5 CVs per vacancy). Traditionally, there is a shortage among blue-collar workers (2.6 CVs per vacancy).
The following sectors are experiencing a shortage of personnel: sales (2.9 CVs per vacancy), transport, logistics and transportation (3.2 CVs), medicine and pharmaceuticals (3.4), construction and real estate (3.7), tourism, hotels and restaurants (3.7) and manufacturing (3.8).
At the same time, in terms of the level of competition, the situation in Tatarstan is better than the average for the Volga Federal District — four resumes per vacancy versus 3.7. The republic ranks third, behind Saratov and Orenburg regions. And in terms of offered salaries, Tatarstan is the leader in the district. Currently, the median offered salary in the republic is 70 thousand rubles. Since the beginning of the year, it has grown by almost 17%.
The highest-payed vacancies today are in the areas of senior and middle management (118,417 rubles), strategies, investments and consulting (103,963 rubles), the automotive business, transport and logistics (100,000 rubles), and construction and real estate (98,340 rubles).
“In our opinion, next year the labour market will continue to experience a shortage of personnel and hiring employees for companies will become more expensive. At the same time, the salary race will slow down, which we are already seeing. Salaries will continue to grow, but at a slower pace,” predicts Albina Sultanova.
The Tatarstan market, like Russian, will still require blue-collar workers and retail specialists, since these are industries with mass hiring. Employers will begin to expand the boundaries of hiring (for example, pay attention to older candidates), will automate internal processes more, invest in staff training and development.
The trend of switching to a remote work format and flexible schedule will also remain relevant. Over the past month, job seekers in Tatarstan posted 173,300 active resumes. Of these, 27% want to work remotely, 22% — with a flexible schedule. As for the hybrid format, many job seekers do not specify it in their resumes, but allow going to the office, for example, during remote work. Directly, “hybrid” or “hybrid format” is indicated in only 0.2% of resumes over the past month. In the Tatarstan market, as in Russia, there will still be a demand for blue-collar workers and specialists in the retail sector, since these are industries with mass hiring
“The current situation in the labour market of the Republic of Tatarstan demonstrates both positive trends in some sectors and significant challenges in others, which requires adaptation on the part of both employers and job seekers,” commented Vice Director General of Rabota.ru, Operating Director of the SberPodbor and Podrabotka services Alexander Veterkov.
The number of vacancies in the third quarter of 2024 in Tatarstan, according to Rabota.ru, increased by 41% compared to the same period in 2023. The most noticeable growth is observed in the trade sector, where the number of vacancies increased by 153%, which indicates an active recovery in consumer demand and business development in this sector. Transport and logistics also showed positive dynamics with an increase of 64%, which may be due to an increase in the volume of freight traffic and the development of infrastructure.
Work for students and internships grew by 56%, which indicates a growing interest in youth employment and support for new personnel. In the field of beauty and health, there is an increase of 42%.
At the same time, the number of vacancies for workers without special training and without experience increased by 12%, which indicates the availability of jobs for entry-level specialists. Also, the field of office services and business services showed an increase of 12%. The service sector as a whole increased by 5%.
A reduction in vacancies is observed in the financial sector (-73%), construction (-35%), marketing and PR (-26%), manufacturing and agriculture (-26%). The number of vacancies also decreased in the sphere of culture and education (-17%) and IT and telecom (-2%).
To increase productivity, companies in 2025 will have to change their approach to work processes, hiring, motivation and employee development. “Automation of production processes whose capabilities have already begun to expand to some extent thanks to import substitution and the launch of domestic business solutions will be one of the key solutions for increasing employee efficiency,” he emphasised.