How a worker exodus is wrecking the Russian economy – and Putin’s war
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/russia-shrinking-workforce-wrecking-economy-050000151.html
Vladimir Putin’s problems are mounting. The Russian President is still reeling from this month’s mutiny by mercenary group Wagner.
The Kremlin is burning through its rainy day fund to bankroll its invasion of Ukraine, and the country has been forced to sell oil at a discount to the likes of India and China.
But another problem is emerging as one of the biggest threats facing the Russian economy. After mass conscription – and an exodus of talented Russians fearful of the war’s impact – there simply aren’t enough workers to fill the jobs available.
Goldman Sachs describes it as the “most binding constraint on the Russian economy”, even ahead of sanctions-related restrictions on capital or technology. With more than two vacancies for every Russian worker, the jobs market is twice as tight as in the UK, where wages have taken off.
Some workers have fled. Others have died on the front line. Many are still fighting. In the words of one economist, it has left companies “screaming” about the lack of young people available to fill roles. And it’s a problem that even the head of the country’s central bank has warned will stoke inflation.
“Whatever happens with the war, the implications of a shrinking workforce on Russia’s economy are extremely negative,” says Liam Peach at Capital Economics.
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(Article does continue. Zim.)
Mad Poet Strikes Again.
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