In Russia, unpaid leave has become the new norm for 4 million workers - intelligence
Kyiv • UNN
In 2025, the number of part-time workers in Russia increased by 12% to 5.5 million people. The largest increase was recorded in manufacturing, hotel and restaurant business, and construction.
In 2025, Russia recorded a further expansion of hidden unemployment. According to the Foreign Intelligence Service, the total number of part-time employees at large and medium-sized enterprises increased by 12% year-on-year to 5.5 million people, UNN reports.
The increase covered all categories of underemployment. The largest group consists of employees sent on unpaid leave – 4 million people (+9%). Another 1.3 million people work part-time by agreement of the parties (+13%). At the same time, the fastest growth rates were demonstrated by employees on downtime – their number increased by 165 thousand, or 1.6 times, as well as employees transferred to part-time work at the initiative of the employer – plus 69 thousand, which means an eightfold increase.
The highest level of partial employment in 2025 was recorded in the hotel and restaurant business – 34%, manufacturing – 27%, and construction – 23%. The largest absolute increase occurred in manufacturing: the number of partially employed in the sector increased by 265 thousand people, or 20.5%, the intelligence service added.
Signs of further weakening of the labor market persist in early 2026. In January, about 10% of companies reported staff reductions, and another 12% reported reduced working hours to optimize costs.
The growth of partial employment actually masks the scale of the economic downturn. Formally, the unemployment rate remains low, but the actual reduction in production load and declining employee incomes indicate systemic problems. This model allows maintaining the appearance of stability, but at the same time conserves technological backwardness: instead of investing in automation, businesses direct resources to maintaining cheap, but inefficient labor.