Hire in Russia

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Hire in Russia

With an escalating population equivalent to 1.87% of the global population and flourishing research and development sectors, Russia continues to be the storehouse of thriving job opportunities for both national and international markets. An expenditure of approximately 422 billion Rubles (RUB) is incurred by the country on the development of a sustainable workplace environment for research and development purposes, making it more feasible to secure jobs in the country.

In present times, with the unprecedented pandemic, the overall unemployment rate in Russia was measured to be 6.3% in July 2020. Retail, tourism, health, and education services have faced a severe decline in standards. However, the companies, with their hierarchical and bureaucratic approach, have continued to showcase and maintain adequate workplace protocols and tried to revive their economic status.

Overview of Russia

Population: 145.9 million (2020)

GDP: 1710.73 billion USD (FY21)

Economic Overview:  

The average wage supply to the workers has witnessed a 1.7% increase between 2019 and 2020 in agriculture and telecommunications but dropped down the optimum margin in hospitality sectors and commerce. Unfortunately due to the coronavirus pandemic, the poverty rate has risen from 13.1% to 13.3% in the third quarter of 2020, establishing the country at a much lower financial position than the pre-pandemic levels.

Market Size: 

Russia holds the honor of bringing the twelfth largest e-commerce market in the world generating a revenue of 24 billion USD in 2020. Advancements in the upcoming market scenarios and the upgrading of existential markets have paved the way for the potential development of various job sectors.

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A brief glimpse of industries

  • The economy of Russia proliferates across the services industries. It comprises real estate, retail, healthcare, marketing, and financial services.
  • Retail tops the leaderboard, resulting in a surplus amount of USD 316.44 billion in revenue charges.
  • The mining occupation has established its supremacy in the list of essential industries of Russia. Gold, diamond, and copper are available in abundance and aid in meeting the demands of the public sectors extensively.
  • The petroleum industry accounts for the large-scale export of crude petroleum, refined petroleum, and petroleum gas, contributing to $173 billion of the overall GDP.
  • The country has wide exposure to foreign trade irrespective of strict protocols and enjoys stable relations with customers in China, Netherlands, Germany, and Turkey.

Cost of Living

The living costs in Russia are quite low. Russia is the second cheapest country to live in Eastern Europe. It is cheaper than 86% of the countries in the world (59% cheaper than New York and 47% cheaper than Paris). A single person’s estimated monthly cost ranges between 40,000 RUB to 65,000 RUB. But, living expenses in Russia vary from province to province and depend largely on your lifestyle. Surveys highlight that Moscow is the most expensive city in Europe, followed by St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. Reports by the OECD better life index reflect the improvement in lifestyle quality and social security over the years. The following is an outline of the average living cost in Russia:

A Breakdown of the Average Cost of Living in Russia for One Person:

Category Area of Expense Estimated Monthly Cost (USD)
Rental Real estates and apartments $70 ~ $400
Food and beverage Household groceries $100 ~ $150
Transportation Bus, train, metro $5 ~ $30
Utilities and miscellaneous Electricity, internet, water supply $20 ~ $50

Cost of Renting

The cost of rent in Russia is as follows:

Location Rent
One-bedroom apartment inside the city center 25,000 RUB
One-bedroom apartment outside the city center 16,000 RUB
Three-bedroom apartment inside the city center 47,000 RUB
Three-bedroom apartment outside the city center 31,000 RUB

Here is the rent index for major cities in Russia:

CITY RENT INDEX
Moscow 28.67
Saint Petersburg 17.31
Kazan 14.03
Yekaterinburg 12.80

Internet Connectivity and Telecommunications:

  • Broadband speeds have witnessed a 36.9% increase in download speed in the year 2020-2021.
  • As per the reports cited by SpeedTest Global Index, Russia ranks 51st in the world for fixed broadband speed.
  • These factors make it more suitable for the software and IT industry to flourish in metropolitan cities such as Moscow.

Skills and Talents for Jobs in Russia

The top sectors that are expected to hire in Russia in 2021 are:

  • Chemical and Petrochemical Industry
  • Metallurgical Industry
  • Agricultural Complex
  • Retail and Foreign Trade
  • Tourism Industry

English-speaking jobs with large multinational companies include:

  • Japan Tobacco International
  • EuroChem
  • Philip Morris International
  • Toyota
  • Volkswagen
  • Apple

Top Skills City-wise Occupation-wise

Moscow

  • IT
  • Business development
  • Finance
  • Human Resources
  • Medical and pharmaceutical

St. Petersburg

  • Sales professionals
  • Drivers
  • Engineers
  • Technical specialists

Novosibirsk

  • Metallurgical engineers
  • Food processing specialists
  • Military aircraft engineers
  • Chemical industrial managers

Yekaterinburg

  • Business Managers
  • Company Developers
  • Sales and Marketing Professionals
  • Finance and Customer Services Experts

Krasnodar

  • Tourism Guides
  • Translators
  • Food Manufacturing Specialists
  • Travel and Hospitality Fields

Hiring Cost

Companies should always keep in mind the hiring cost specific to any country. The same goes for Russia. There are numerous factors decide the cost of living in proper urban/metropolitan areas of the country, including the average annual expenditure of any employee, and the current socio-economic condition of particular states or the whole country. It is crucial to allocate hiring costs properly on specific domains because, ultimately, these factors will affect the final in-hand salary of the concerned employee.

The factors that highly influence the cost of hiring are:

  1. Onboarding costs: Onboarding is the transition process that any employee has to go through to get accustomed to the new working environment (like understanding the company mission, culture, values, stakeholders, etc.) It usually lasts for the first 60 to 90 days of the work. A company must allocate necessary resources to make this transition smooth for the employee.
  2. Training costs: Usually, this process is merged with the onboarding process to reduce the time consumption as much as possible. Experts are hired specially for this purpose so that the new employees can get hold of the current skills and practices early, and start contributing towards the company fast.
  3. HR costs: The above two expenses generally come after the HR expenses. HR costs consist of costs incurred due to various interviews, screening, and recruitment processes. It mainly takes a bit of time to conduct these successfully since there is absolutely no scope of being biased while recruiting an employee.
  4. Opportunity costs: Opportunity cost is crucial while making any career-based decisions. It is one of the primary concepts of economics. Opportunity cost represents the potential benefit or returns of any individual/business that one misses out on while opting for an alternate option. Logically these are unseen costs and are easily overlooked if one is not careful enough.

Salary structure based on the type of job field:

The following table will give you a basic idea of how the average gross monthly salary (in Russian Rubles and USD) fluctuates with the particular job field:

Working areas Average gross monthly salary by survey (in Ruble) Average gross monthly salary by survey (in USD)
Administration 34,417 476.33
Agriculture/Food Industry 32,044 443.49
Banking 51,104 707.28
Commerce 41,895 579.83
Real Estate 45,091 624.06
Finance, Accountancy 46,807 647.81
Education, Science, Research 37,796 523.10
Electrical Engineering 43,694 604.72
General Labour 30,779 425.98
Human Resources 48,025 664.67
Information Technology 81,846 1132.75
Insurance 43,042 595.70
Journalism & Media 37,678 521.46
Law & Legislation 52,456 725.99
Marketing & Advertising 46,461 643.02
Mechanical Engineering 41,732 577.57
Pharmaceutical Industry 47,509 657.52
Telecommunications 50,376 697.20
Transport & Logistics 35,160 486.61

*1 Russian Ruble equals 0.014 United States Dollar as of 17 Jun, 3:19 pm UTC

Employment Laws in Russia

When working in a country like Russia, there are some employment regulations that both the employer and the employee have to follow. As an employer, it is crucial for your recruitment team to consider these employment laws to hire in Russia. But, some laws are specific to certain specific jobs. The Employment Act maintains the harmony between the two. The most prominent employment regulatory laws available in Russia are:

  • Federal laws and Presidential decrees that apply to certain Russian industries.
  • Various governmental regulations issued by concerned executive authorities.
  • Regional and municipal regulations working as collective agreements for employees and employers.
  • Internal policies and laws with governing bodies at company levels.

Remote Hiring Trends in Russia in 2022

Top Companies Hiring in Russia

In Russia, IT and telecom employers are the largest employers of remote workers by industry, at a 16% share. The hiring growth rate in 2022 is only 0.7% and is projected to trend even lower at 0.3% in 2023.

The top companies hiring in Russia are:

  • Deloitte
  • PwC
  • EY
  • KPMG
  • Accenture

Top Job Titles in Russia

Some of the most in-demand jobs in 2022 include:

  • Risk managers
  • Computer programmers
  • Ship captains
  • Accountants
  • Doctors
  • Engineers
  • Digital marketing specialists
  • Global security network engineers
  • Technical product managers
  • Data analysts
  • Programmers

Many of the above titles are IT and telecom positions. Education and sales have a 13% share of the total remote workforce. Salespeople and teachers are examples of this field.

Work-Life Balance in Russia

From the employees’ point of view, 40% of workers named remote work their number one most important criterion for searching for a job. 47% of employees expressed a desire to return to office work full-time or part of the time. In 2022, 22% of respondents said they worked from home, while 36% worked in a hybrid mode. The proportion of Russians who work long hours is only 0.2%, making the country high on a work-life balance scale. However, over 70% of Russians have felt burnout.

Before the pandemic, most Russian employers said they did not offer remote work for their employees, with only 17% of employers allowing all of their employees to work from home before lockdowns. After the pandemic started, employers were required to move most work to remote work, aided partly by cloud service usage, corporate internet, and communication tools.

How Can Skuad Help You to Hire in Russia?

Hiring in Russia is a multi-faceted task requiring in-depth knowledge of the laws, trends, hiring costs, living costs city-wise, and more. Skuad comes onboard as a one-stop solution handling every minute aspect of recruitment. It gives you the freedom and time to focus on your project and expansion plans without any hiring stresses. Connect with Skuad experts to know more.

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