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Type of Employer

% Labour Force
Region State    Ex-State    New Private    % Mean New Private
East Siberia 44 20 33 143
Volga 35 37 28 122
Central 48 25 25 109
West Siberia 57 19 24 104
Northern 58 16 23 100
RUSSIAN MEAN 50 26 23 100
North-west 51 26 22 96
Far East 62 18 20 87
North Caucasus 53 28 19 83
Volgo-Vyatka 40 38 19 83
Urals 53 30 17 74
Central Black Earth 60 28 12 52
Source: VCIOM Nationwide Surveys 1997     

State Employment Still Dominates

Efforts to promote the market have only half succeeded; across Russia as a whole, 50 per cent of the labour force is sitll employed in the state sector, whether by manufacturing plants and other enterprises or in providing non-market social services such as education and health.   This is about double the average in Western Europe.  State employment is highest in the Far East and the Central Black Earth regions.  It is lowest in Volgo-Vyatka and Volga regions.

Those working in the non-state sector are almost evenly divided between workers in privatized ex-state enterprises and those in private firms and co-operatives which were never part of the command economy.   The highest proportion working in ex-state enterprises are in Volgo-Vyatka; the  highest proportion working in new private firms are in East Siberia.


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