The number of employees laid off in the fourth quarter of 2025 increased by 59% year-on-year, reaching 32,600 people, compared with 20,500 in the same period of 2024. This follows from the Rosstat report “Socio-Economic Situation of Russia” for January 2026.
According to calculations by Business-Gazeta.Ru, more than 100,000 people were laid off over the course of the year. In the first quarter, layoffs totaled 21,800, in the second quarter 23,700, in the third quarter 29,500, and in the fourth quarter 32,600.
By sector, the largest number of layoffs in the fourth quarter occurred in public administration, security, and social welfare, where 4,900 people lost their jobs.
The healthcare and social services sector ranked second with 4,600 layoffs, followed by education with 3,800 employees. The manufacturing sector reduced its workforce by 3,900 people.
According to Kommersant, Russian employers posted 1.4 million job vacancies in December 2025, which is 13% fewer than a year earlier. The sharpest decline was recorded in the Volga Federal District, where vacancies dropped by 23% to 261,000 listings.
Experts say the number of job offers on the labor market is likely to continue decreasing in 2026, while competition for jobs will intensify.
Igor Polyakov, an expert at the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting, believes the lowest point of labor demand has not yet been reached.
“Rosstat records a significant increase in the number of people working under civil-law contracts — from several hundred thousand to 2 million. It is possible that companies are transferring employees to such contracts before planning to lay them off in the near future,” Polyakov noted.
