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- Labor niche: businesses have started to attract workers from Africa and South America
Labor niche: businesses have started to attract workers from Africa and South America
Russian companies have started to attract employees from Africa, Latin America and South Asia, Izvestia found out. The demand for employees from these countries has grown tenfold. They are mainly hired as laborers, construction workers and couriers. This is due to the shortage of personnel, the relative cheapness of such labor resources and the tightening of legislation for natives of border states. Whether foreigners will help support our economy, - in the material of "Izvestia".
Why do Africans and Latin Americans come to Russia?
Against the background of a record shortage of personnel, companies have become more active in attracting labor from abroad, including from distant countries - companies have started looking for people from Africa, Latin America and South Asia. The Central Bank drew attention to this in its February report on the regional economy (Izvestia has studied it).
In the document, the Bank of Russia cited examples: a large trading company in Sakhalin has hired a consultant for migration documents to help foreigners coming from far away. And a garment factory in Bashkortostan has received approval to hire specialists from Southeast Asia, which includes 11 countries, including Thailand, Vietnam, and Bangladesh. The editorial board sent an inquiry to the Bank of Russia.
Recruiters confirmed this trend. According to hh.ru, only in the first half of 2024, the number of vacancies from Russian companies for residents of Kenya increased 39 times compared to 2023 - up to 6.4 thousand. The number of such offers for citizens of other African countries - Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Zambia and Algeria - has also increased.
In addition, last year domestic enterprises for the first time placed ads for workers from African Sierra Leone and Gabon, Asian Nepal and even from the Bahamas (Caribbean), said in hh.ru. But so far there are not so many of them in the total number. They added: at the same time, Turkey and Serbia are still the leaders among non-CIS countries in the number of vacancies from business from Russia.
"Izvestia" asked the Ministry of Labor, whether the Ministry fixes such trends.
The most demanded specialists from faraway countries are laborers (loaders, storekeepers) and construction workers (painters, plasterers). They account for 35% of vacancies, shared in the recruiting company. Also Russian employers are looking for service personnel (cashiers, waiters, cleaners) and production workers (engineers, operators).
At the same time, the demand for IT specialists from abroad (including European and Asian countries) has increased by a third.
- Migrants are most actively employed in the industries most in need of personnel, such as construction, agriculture and housing and utilities, " added Yulia Florinskaya, a leading researcher at the INSAP Center of the IPEI Presidential Academy.
Already now many newcomers from Africa and South America in Russia are employed as couriers and nannies, said Yulia Dolzhenkova, professor of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. According to her, they are often hired for seasonal work in hotels, construction and agriculture.
Why Russian business needs migrants from distant countries
The main reason for attracting workers from far abroad is the acute shortage of personnel in the Russian Federation. The deficit was formed due to the demographic hole, overflow of labor resources to the military service and defense industry, outpacing growth of output in labor-intensive industries and reduced migration from the CIS countries, explained Olga Belenkaya, head of macroeconomic analysis department of FG Finam.
In its report, the Central Bank notes that the inflow of foreigners from the near abroad has decreased due to the tightening of migration laws.
"In the Chelyabinsk, Astrakhan, Volgograd, Tver, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk regions, Krasnodar, Primorsky, Khabarovsk and Trans-Baikal Territories, the ban on the work of migrants on the basis of a patent in the hotel business and catering, passenger transportation, car sales, repair of household appliances, work in households, trade has been extended for 2025," the regulator recalled.
Migration policy tightened after the terrorist attack in "Crocus City Hall" in March 2024. The attack involved natives of Tajikistan.
In 2025, quotas for attracting migrant workers from visa countries were increased 1.5 times, recalled Freedom Finance Global analyst Vladimir Chernov. So the number of newcomers from other continents may grow. In addition, Russian businesses are running out of resources to raise employee salaries, so they need cheap labor, the expert added.
However, today it is unlikely that workers from Africa and Latin America can really compete with migrants from the CIS, believes Yulia Florinskaya from the Presidential Academy. Citizens of distant countries make up only 4% of all foreigners who have arrived for work, she added.
The difficulty is that in order to hire migrants from Africa and Latin America, employers must issue them labor visas - unlike CIS citizens who can work under a labor patent, or newcomers from the EAEU, who do not need such permits at all, explained Vladimir Chernov.
- Such employees may also have problems with educational documents, as their diplomas will have to be brought to the Russian standard, " he noted.
What risks labor migrants pose to the economy of the Russian Federation
Themain risks of attracting foreigners from Africa and Latin America are related to the difference in cultures and values, said Farida Mirzabalaeva, Associate Professor of the Human Resource Management Department of the Plekhanov Russian Economic University. She explained: it is also often difficult for newcomers to adapt to the harsh Russian climate and social infrastructure.
In addition, most work bans in Russia are now related to migrants' poor knowledge of the Russian language - they cannot pass a special exam, said Yulia Florinskaya from the Presidential Academy.
At the same time, labor migration, as a rule, attracts cheaper workforce, whose professionalism is not so high, the expert added. Because of this, there are risks that labor productivity will decrease. But now the advantages of attracting people from abroad outweigh the benefits.
In the coming years, the number of foreigners working in Russia will continue to grow, but they will mostly be citizens of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, added Yulia Florinskaya. She is sure that so far no other country can compete with them in terms of the number of migrant workers coming to us.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
