This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (FISU) on Facebook, according to Ukrinform.

“According to Rosstat and the Unified Interagency Information and Statistical System, there were 74.6 million employed people in the country in January–May 2026, while the number of employees on the official payroll of organizations was only 44.1 million. The gap between these figures reached 30.5 million people—that is 41% of the country’s total workforce,” the intelligence agency emphasized.

It is noted that officially hiring an employee in the Russian Federation has become too expensive. According to the intelligence report, retaining a full-time employee costs a Russian employer at least 43% more than the gross salary: personal income tax ranging from 13% to 22% depending on the progressive scale, plus social security contributions at a base rate of 30% within the maximum base and an additional 0.2% to 8.5% for workplace injuries.

“In contrast, working with the self-employed costs the company zero in insurance contributions, and the contractor pays only 6% tax on professional income. Under such conditions, businesses vote with their wallets,” the FISU notes.

This trend is reinforced by the platform economy, the intelligence agency notes. Taxi services, delivery services, marketplaces, and outsourcing companies are increasingly hiring workers as individual entrepreneurs or self-employed individuals, thereby avoiding formal employment. “For platforms, this is a way to reduce fixed costs and shift social and financial risks onto the workers themselves, who are left without sick leave, vacation pay, and pension contributions in their usual form,” the FISU reports.

It is reported that the largest gap between total and formal employment is observed in retail, construction, manufacturing, agriculture, and transportation—sectors characterized by seasonal fluctuations in demand, high employee turnover, and the need to quickly adjust workforce levels.

While in 2023–2025 an acute labor shortage forced Russian businesses to retain permanent employees, compete for them, and raise wages, the economic slowdown in 2026 is shifting priorities: against the backdrop of slowing growth, expensive credit, and weak demand, companies are increasingly opting not to expand their workforce but to optimize costs through flexible forms of employment, the intelligence report notes.

It is emphasized that for the Kremlin, such a transformation results in direct financial losses.

“A reduction in the share of full-time employees means a narrowing of the tax and social security revenue base—precisely at a time when the war is demanding ever more resources from the Russian Federation’s budget. Attempts to tighten control over the informal labor market will only raise the cost of formal hiring and further slow down business activity,” the FISU states.

As previously reported, according to the FISU, twice as many companies are closing in Russia as are opening.

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