Russia might lose almost 11 million workers by 2030, Russian Labor Minister Anton Kotyakov said in describing a deepening demographic crisis that could threaten the country's economy in the long run, Business Insider reported on Tuesday.
While births last year in Russia fell to their lowest level since 1999, deaths have increased. In addition, the war in Ukraine has exacerbated labor shortages, with injuries and deaths on the battlefield cutting into the population of those of working age and younger, as well as educated professionals leaving the country.
Kotyakov emphasized the scale of the problem in a meeting at the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning that if productivity growth falls short of the assumptions built into the current forecast, there could be "an additional shortage of personnel."
Putin has already made population growth a national priority, describing it as a matter of "ethnic survival."
In the Kremlin meeting, however, members of Putin's Cabinet talked about other potential ways to sharply increase birth rates, including cash payouts and tax breaks for large families.
Businesses across the country are already feeling the labor shortage, as employers in Russia are increasingly turning to retirees and teenagers to fill positions.
Wages have gone up due to the labor shortage, which has also fueled inflation and added a strain to an economy already distorted by wartime spending, according to Business Insider.
In addition, Russian Economic Minister Maxim Reshetnikov warned last month that the country was on the brink of a recession.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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