"Shadow" employment in the russian federation has reached 41%; the Kremlin is preparing to fall short of its tax revenues
Kyiv • UNN
In January - May 2026, the russian federation had 74.6 million employed people, but the official staff headcount was only 44.1 million. This indicates "shadow" employment at a level of 41%, threatening tax losses.
In Russia, the labor market continues to move into the "shadow" economy. According to official Russian statistics, in January - May 2026, the country had 74.6 million employed people, while the staff number of employees of organizations amounted to only 44.1 million. This is reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, UNN reports.
Details
As noted by Ukrainian intelligence, retaining a full-time employee costs an employer at least 43% more than the accrued salary - personal income tax of 13% to 22%, depending on the progressive scale, plus insurance contributions to the social fund at a basic rate of 30% within the maximum contribution base, and an additional 0.2% to 8.5% for workplace injuries. At the same time, cooperation with a self-employed person costs a company zero insurance contributions, while the contractor pays only 6% tax on professional income.
In 2023-2025, the acute labor shortage forced Russian businesses to hold on to full-time employees, compete for them, and raise salaries
To remind you
In July 2026, the Russian economy showed a further deterioration in financial activity. The main blow fell on the extractive sector, petroleum product production, and public administration. But the problem is no longer limited to export commodities - domestic demand and investment are also weakening.