Assessing the professional structure of the employed population in Russian regions on the basis of economic complexity concept

The skill level of an employee has a significant impact on the formation of employment indicators and economic development. Current scientific discussions are devoted to assessing the prospects for development of the labor market, identifying professions that will be in demand in the future and that will determine the possibilities for the development of human capital. The aim of the work is to assess the economic complexity of professional employment structure and the economic complexity of professional groups of the employed population in Russia’s regions, and to identify trends in the development of regional labor markets on this basis. The assessment of the economic complexity of the regional structure of professional employment can be considered as a characteristic of the level of human capital development, since the region’s ability to bring the develop of professional groups with high estimates of economic complexity to the level of strong ones depends on the knowledge accumulated by employees. Estimates of the economic complexity of professional employment structure in Russia’s regions and the economic complexity of professional groups were obtained according to the data for 2018, 2020 and 2021. For five professional groups, the grades of economic complexity assessments do not change over time, including those for doctors of sciences, candidates of sciences and specialists of the highest skill level. For four professional groups, the ranks change slightly - no more than by a unit. The ranks of complexity assessments change significantly for two professional groups: “managers” (the position of this professional group is improving) and “employees of the service and trade sector and protection of citizens and property” (their position is deteriorating). The ranking of the professional group “unskilled workers” is higher than the rankings of the three groups of skilled workers. The rankings of assessments of the complexity of professional groups correspond to existing opinions about the average level of human capital development among representatives of these groups of the employed population. Estimates of the economic complexity of the structure of professional employment and professional groups can be used to develop a methodology for choosing priority areas for diversifying the region’s economy.