Forming a unified labor market as a condition for urban agglomeration development (based on materials of the Vologda oblast)

In the modern world, one of the most promising forms of territorial organization of the society is an urban agglomeration. The concentration of various types of resources and their effective use leads to a multiplier effect, resulting in higher business activity in the agglomeration than outside it. Studies show that despite the completed phase of extensive formation of urban agglomerations in Russia most of them are at the initial stages of development where the formation of a single labor market is of particular importance. The mutually beneficial use of available labor resources stimulates economic growth thus activating the subsequent integration processes. In this regard, the article discusses the state of the labor market of the emerging Vologda agglomeration in order to identify barriers to its further development. Such a choice of the research object is explained by the fact that the Vologda Oblast is a typical Russian constituent entity in terms of most socio-economic indicators. Thus, the results can be interpreted with respect to other territories of the country. Analysis of the labor market is carried out in the context of its key parameters: supply, demand, and price. The results show that amid the changing age structure of the population and its reducing number in the territory of the Vologda agglomeration, there is an increase in labor potential. At the same time, the level of registered unemployment both in the center and on the periphery remains quite low and the number of vacant jobs exceeds the number of unemployed people. Taking into account the fact that the differences in wages within the agglomeration are insignificant all this hinders the formation of a single labor market.