For Demographic, Business and Financial Reasons, Average Age of Job Seekers in Russia Rising Fast and May Hit 50 by 2030, Russian Experts Say

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 2 – At present, the average age of job seekers in the Russian Federation is 41, a number that is rising fast and is likely to reach 50 by the end of this decade, Russian experts say, pointing to demographic problems, the convenience of businesses and the financial needs of Russians facing an impoverished retirement.

            In most countries, the average age of job seekers is relatively young as new people enter the working-age cohort at greater numbers than those already in it change jobs. But Russia’s demographic collapse and the war in Ukraine mean there are few of the former and more of the latter, Russian experts say.

            (For documentation of these and other factors and the predictions about the future rise of average age of job seekers, see iz.ru/1910549/olga-anaseva/trudovoj-vozrast-predpensionerov-stali-vdvoe-chashche-zvat-na-rabotu, ura.news/articles/1053082535 and svpressa.ru/society/article/509191/.)

            The demographic factor is perhaps the most important warning sign given that without new people entering the workforce Russia won’t be able to meet its economic goals; but it is far from the only factor at work on a figure that is seldom noted in public discussions of Russia’s economic problems.

            Two other factors are also at work. On the one hand, many businesses now prefer to hire older workers because they are more experienced and less demanding, thus saving the businesses money. And on the other, as pensions fall relative to working-age incomes, more Russians in their 50s are seeking to retain or improve their positions by seeking new work.