Labor potential of population in the regions of Russia: Comparative analysis in static and dynamic contexts

In interregional studies of human and labor potential, both static and dynamic analyses are widely used. This article applies these methods to identify problematic and developing subjects of the Russian Federation (RF). The static analysis was carried out on the basis of grouping regions using the cluster analysis method based on human potential indicators, which included indicators of labor potential. Using statistics from Rosstat for the year 2021, the study focused specifically on labor potential indicators, selecting the percentage of highly qualified workers relative to the employed population as a key metric. A comparative analysis was performed across a spectrum of regions, comprising ten regions with the highest and lowest values of labor potential. The first group included capital-and resource-rich Northern regions, while the second group consisted of problematic regions. In the European part of the country, these were primarily medium-developed subjects of the RF, characterized by less advanced industrial production. In the Asian regions, the level of industrial development is lower, and reliance on budgetary funding is higher. Dynamic changes were tracked based on the growth rates of labor potential indicators, which generally increased across the country from 2014 to 2024, particularly in the past five years. Comparative analysis was conducted for ten regions with the highest and lowest growth rates from 2019 to 2024. Examination of the dynamics was complicated by the contradictory influence of exogenous factors, such as the coronavirus pandemic and the special military operation. Nonetheless, it was found that the first group of regions contained more areas with a low base for calculating growth rates. In almost half of the RF subjects in the second group, there was observes a negative dynamics in key development indicators (employment in manufacturing, levels of budgetary funding, etc.).

human and labor potential, employee, qualifications, region, static and dynamic analysis, industry, growth rates