Competition for jobs is growing in Nizhny Novgorod

Over the past year, the number of posted resumes has sharply increased in the Nizhny Novgorod region and the number of vacancies has decreased. According to research by Rabota.ru, competition for one job in the region has doubled: now on average seven people apply for one vacancy, and this figure is significantly higher than in other cities with a million population. The most intense competition is among lawyers, administrative workers and accountants. According to experts, the labor market will stabilize no earlier than 2018.

In the Nizhny Novgorod region, there is no balanced ratio of the number of vacancies and resumes in any area of work, said Igor Barbashov, director of Rabota.ru in Nizhny Novgorod. According to him, since May 2015, the number of posted resumes has sharply increased in the region and the number of posted vacancies has decreased. In Nizhny Novgorod, the number of vacancies over the year (compared to autumn 2014) has decreased by 53%, and at the moment there are 6.9 resumes applying for one vacancy. “For comparison, in September of this year the coefficient was 5.5. And this dynamics reflects increasing competition in the labor market: for example, a year ago, in the fall of 2014, the coefficient was 3.3, that is, competition has doubled,” said Mr. Barbashov.

The toughest competition, according to the agency, is observed among lawyers (16.49 resumes per vacancy), administrative personnel (12.08) and accountants (11.92). Tensions are also very high in the transport and auto business segment (10.35), safety and security (10.08), culture and entertainment (9.97) and HR (9.57). In addition, the most competitive industries in the region include logistics (8.46), construction and housing and communal services (8.09). A serious struggle is being waged for positions of top managers (6.69). It’s easier to get a job in real estate and real estate services (1.65 resumes per vacancy), catering (2.25) and personal services (2.28). From three to six people apply for one vacancy in the banking segment, manufacturing, telecom and IT, as well as in the field of marketing and PR, and in trade. At the same level is the demand for employees without special training and for students.

Data from the recruiting portal Superjob.ru are more optimistic: according to company estimates, the number of vacancies in Nizhny Novgorod in annual terms decreased by 19% by October 2014. A similar decline occurred in Krasnoyarsk and Yekaterinburg; on average in Russia, the number of vacancies decreased by 9%. At the same time, according to Superjob.ru, the number of resumes in Nizhny Novgorod increased by 20% over the year, which corresponds to the Russian average, and the level of competition increased from 3 to 4.5 resumes per vacancy.

In terms of competition in the labor market, the Nizhny Novgorod region, according to Rabota.ru analysts, is ahead of a number of Russian million-plus cities in many areas. For example, competition among lawyers in Nizhny is two to four times higher than in Kazan and Novosibirsk. In the HR segment, the competition for vacancies is four to six times tougher than in Kazan, Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg. But at the same time, in Rostov-on-Don and Kazan, the competition between applicants for positions in the IT segment is tougher than in Nizhny. In the capital of Tatarstan, competition is higher in the restaurant business, as well as in the transport and auto business.

“Nevertheless, in general, the situation on the labor market in Nizhny is more complicated than in other cities with a population of over a million,” believes the general director of the RDV-Media holding (Rabota.ru, publications “Work for You”, “Elite Personnel” and etc.) Alexander Veterkov. In his opinion, this may be due to the fact that Nizhny Novgorod business has more streamlined processes and operates with fewer people.

In the near future, a decrease in activity in the labor market will be associated with a seasonal factor, senior analyst at Superjob.ru Daria Shurygina predicts, but the expert does not expect a large increase in competition. “In the second half of the year, the labor market as a whole adapted to new economic realities. On the part of employers, processes are being carried out to optimize internal business processes, increasing the efficiency of employees. At the same time, plans for hiring personnel are shrinking compared to last year,” the analyst notes. On the part of job seekers, interest in more stable industries is increasing, for example, there is an outflow of candidates from the financial and tourism sectors, as well as the automotive industry, which are strongly affected by the negative economic situation. “Despite a certain stabilization, we are not talking about a return to last year’s hiring rates and wage growth. Rather, the market adapts to new conditions and learns to work effectively in the current situation,” says Ms. Shurygina. Since there are fewer and fewer employers, and due to the optimization of personnel there is more work, companies that are now recruiting staff will require employees to be active and willing to do work outside their profile, believes Alexander Veterkov. “Of course, prices are rising, and financial motivation comes to the fore for job seekers. But employers in the next year or two will not be ready to pay money for the process: additional money will only be possible for the result, and we need to prepare for this. A narrow professional is now less valuable than someone who is willing to work more for less money and do more than just their job. On the other hand, the applicant must be ready to retrain and work in related industries,” the expert believes. According to his forecasts, in 2016-2017 the labor market will remain at its current level and will grow from 2018.

Anna Pavlova

Seven resumes - one vacancy