Informal employment and structural imbalances in the labor market

The paper analyzes principles and mechanisms related to the development of informal employment, including at the regional level, where the accelerated growth of the informal sector is mainly caused by low living standards and lack of jobs, including in enterprises and organizations. The lack of skills, which is often a key aspect in the formation of labor shortages in regional markets, is mediated by relatively low budget expenditures on human capital. The hypothesis of the study is that structural imbalances in the demand for labor and its supply, one of the indicators of which is the extent of informal employment, determine the tension in the labor market. The aim of the work is to theoretically substantiate and empirically confirm the relationship between the extent of informal employment and the level of economic development, and to identify opportunities to reduce tension in the labor market. Statistical basis of the study includes Rosstat data; research tasks were solved using economic and mathematical analysis methods. The results obtained by analyzing statistical series confirmed the research hypothesis. In conclusion, we consider the possibility of structural and technological maneuver in economic sectors as an important factor in overcoming tension in the labor market. In particular, due to the labor-saving nature of such a maneuver, it is possible to significantly increase labor productivity by at least 15 million jobs. Construction and trade may become priority industry areas for workplace modernization in the coming years. The results of our calculations are considered as a preliminary assessment of the possibilities of labor productivity growth at the macro level, involving the development of special sectoral and regional programs to increase labor productivity, which is the practical significance of the results obtained.