Russia faces severe labor shortage, emergency services hit by staffing crisis
Photo: staffing crisis hits security services (Getty Images)
Russia is facing a rapidly worsening labor shortage that has already spread to security agencies, municipal services, and civilian sectors of the economy amid the war against Ukraine, according to the foreign intelligence service.
The labor shortage in Russia has become systemic, affecting everyone from firefighters and police officers to janitors and industrial specialists.
Shortage in emergency services
Russia’s emergencies minister, Alexander Kurenkov, publicly acknowledged the staffing deficit and proposed recruiting conscripted soldiers as firefighters. He cited low wages as the main reason for the outflow of personnel.
In the federal fire service, responsible for firefighting and rescue operations across the country, more than one-third of positions are vacant, around 91,200 employees, leaving units staffed at about 65.5%.
The most severe shortages have been recorded in Udmurtia (35%), the Tula region (30%), the Magadan region (27%), and Moscow (27%).
Police crisis
A difficult situation is also observed in the interior ministry system. In several regions, staff shortages are approaching one-third, while the nationwide average stands at about 19%.
Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said that effectively every second district police officer left service over the past year, adding that those who remain are "working for four." Salaries have not been indexed for years, accelerating staff departures.
In 2025, the number of employees leaving the interior ministry rose by 7% to 80,000, around 40% more than the number of new hires.
Problems in civilian sector
The labor deficit has spread to civilian industries as well. In Russia’s Far East, even janitors are in short supply, forcing employers to raise wages and offer additional bonuses to attract workers.
Official unemployment stands at 2.2%, while the number of open vacancies is around 1.7 million.
The Russian government acknowledges that by 2030 the economy will need to attract up to 12 million additional workers.
Earlier reports said Russia’s regions are facing a financial crisis, with the situation worst in traditionally depressed areas such as the Kalmykia, Mari El, and Pskov regions.
Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service previously warned that the Russian economy has fallen into a trap of problematic loans that could trigger a downturn.
