Mishchuk S.N. Transformation of international labor migration in the Russian Far East in the post-soviet period. Geography and Natural Resources. 2023. Vol. 44. No. 4. Pp. 137-147. DOI: 10.15372 ...

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyze the transformation of the sectoral and territorial structure of international labor migrants in the Far East in the post-Soviet period. The subject for study is represented by international labor migration in the Far Eastern regions. Unlike earlier studies on similar topics, this paper analyzes the change in the structure of migration both at the district level and at the level of individual regions of the Far East. It is shown that changes in the structure of labor migration in the Russian Far East correspond to the all-Russian trends with a time lag of 10 years. While in general throughout Russia a steady excess of labor migrants from neighboring countries with visa-free regime has been observed since the mid-2000s, in general throughout the Far East — since the mid-2010s. It was found that by the beginning of the 2020s, a sectoral specialization of labor migrants from the non-CIS and CIS countries has been formed in the labor market of the Far Eastern regions. It was established that the ratio of migrants’ categories differs in individual regions. It was determined that a list of source countries and the sectoral structure of foreign workers’ employment for countries with visa regime has formed from countries with visa regime in structure of labor migration of the Far East; however, the ratio of the countries is changed. China remains the leader, and citizens of Turkey, Vietnam, and Serbia also occupy a stable position in the Far East labor market. In the labor market of  the Far East, among citizens of the CIS countries, citizens of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan are in the lead. It is shown that the regions of the Far East are characterized by the process of deconcentration of skilled and highly skilled labor migrants and their distribution in a larger number of regions than before.