The quality of labor potential outside large cities

Sustainable development of rural areas in the context of reducing labor force caused by the natural loss of population and migration outflow to major cities is possible to ensure only through economic modernization, enhancement of the quality of labor potential and improvement of its efficiency. The goal of the research presented in the paper is to assess labor potential quality in the territories outside major cities. The information base of the work is the data of the monitoring of the qualitative state of labor potential of the Vologda Oblast population, an unprecedented longitudinal sociological research carried out by Vologda Research Center of RAS since 1997. The questionnaire survey takes place in eight districts of the Oblast and in the cities of Vologda and Cherepovets. The sample size is 1,500 people of working age. The assessment technique is based on the concept of qualitative characteristics of the population developed at RAS Institute of Socio-Economic Studies of Population and allows us to evaluate in index form (from zero to one) eight basic qualities of labor potential: physical health, mental health, cognitive potential, creativity, sociability, cultural and moral levels, achievement need. The originality and novelty of our approach described in the article lies in the fact that the assessment of labor potential quality is carried out in the context of age and is accompanied by a comparative analysis of “urban” and “rural” indicators. The analysis was carried out for three age groups: working age youth (16-30 years old), pre-retirement age persons (women aged 50-54, men aged 55-59), middle-aged persons (women aged 31- 49, men aged up to 54). The use of this approach allows us to show that although the average quality of labor potential of rural areas (the average index of social capacity) is steadily lower than in major cities, the quality of rural youth, in general, is not inferior to that of urban youth: the villagers “lose” to urban residents in terms of energy potential, but compensate for this by their high development of social and psychological potential, including communicative potential. Thus, a widespread perception of the low quality of population outside major cities has not been confirmed with regard to working age youth. Under the current conditions, it is strategically important to “retain” young people in rural areas and provide them with an opportunity to implement their labor potential for the benefit of their home region.