Opportunities and risks for graduates of higher educational institutions in the Russian labor market

The article examines the main factors of social changes in the labor market. It is emphasized that contradictions are growing in this sphere, and the imbalance between the supply and demand for services is increasing. Formation of the global digital environment dynamizes changes in the labor market and has an increasingly active influence on the state employment policy in almost all countries, including the Russian Federation. The unregulated digital environment exacerbates the problem of inequality in the sphere of social and labor relations and gives it a new quality. In this regard, it is especially important for young people to acquire that higher education, which, on the one hand, will be in demand in a qualitatively new labor market, and on the other hand, meets their personal needs and expectations. The authors conducted a study using an online questionnaire to identify employment problems for young professionals. The study concludes that there is a discrepancy between the aspirations of young people and the needs of the real economy. The leading role of the state and socially responsible business is emphasized in minimizing socio-economic differentiation in entering the higher education system and in the learning process itself, as well as in expanding training in specialties in demand in the context of digital transformation.