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Employment by Sector

Region  % Labour Force  
Industrial    Agricultural    Services    % Russian mean Services
North-west 45 6 50 119
Central 44 7 49 117
Far East 44 10 46 110
East Siberia 45 12 43 102
West Siberia 44 13 43 102
Northern 49 7 43 102
RUSSIAN MEAN 43 15 42 100
North Caucasus 38 21 41 98
Urals 47 13 40 95
Volga 45 16 39 93
Volgo-Vyatka 46 15 39 93
Central Black Earth 41 21 38 90
Source: VCIOM Nationwide surveys 1997.    

The Soviet system was intended to industrialize Russia and it succeeded; industrial workers remain today the largest group in the labour force.  Insofar as agricultural workers are employed in "factory-like" collective farms, the proportion of wage-earners nominally producing goods in large enterprises is further increased.  Industrial employment, whether in state factories or privatized enterprises is important in all regions, but nowhere are more than half the population in industry.  The highest proportion is 49 per cent in the Northern region.  The capacity of the Soviet system to distribute industry nation-wide is shown by the fact that in all regions but one at least two fifths of labour force is in industry, including regions that are highest in agricultural employment.

The Central region and the North-west are the two areas in which the service sector is most important.  This reflects the importance of Moscow and St Petersburg, their chief cities, as centres of administration and places of employment for well-educated "brain-workers."


CSPP School of Government & Public Policy U. of Strathclyde Glasgow G1 1XQ Scotland
Email: cspp@strath.ac.uk