| A study of digital and non-digital employment stability in the Russian Federation |
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Author: Natalia V. Tonkikh, Ural State University of Economics, Ekaterinburg, Russia Tatyana A. Kamarova, Ural State University of Economics, Ekaterinburg, Russia Tatyana L. Markova, Ural State University of Economics, Ekaterinburg, Russia Abstract: Ensuring employment stability and aligning its structure with the priorities of the national economy are important drivers of economic growth. The study aims to investigate the stability of digital and non-digital employment using the own original method adapted to the possibilities of the government statistics. The methodological foundation of the research is the postulates of the employment theory. Methods of descriptive statistics, comparative analysis are applied. The evidence base consists of the microdata from the 2024 Labour Force Survey by Russia’s Federal State Statistics Service. The paper defines digital employment as the activities with the intensive use of information and communication technologies and digital platforms at work and/or related to the creation of digital products, while the term “non-digital employment” captures the employees who do not use digital tools while performing their jobs. Because of the limited access to the microdata, the employment stability is assessed using the following indicators: legitimacy of employment contracts; prevalence of permanent employment relationships; prevalence of standard workweek duration; absence of secondary employment. The study reveals a significant differentiation in the concentration of digital employment forms across industries. The findings demonstrate that the digitalisation of the job content does not impact the employment stability, which is mainly affected by the nature and the form of social-labour relations. The presented method shows the potential to be applied in the employment stability assessment across the detailed subgroups of occupations according to the national classifier in strategically important areas of the national socioeconomic development. Keywords: stable employment; precarious employment; digitalisation; information and communication technologies; platform employment; remote work. For citation: Tonkikh N. V., Kamarova T. A., Markova T. L. (2026). A study of digital and non-digital employment stability in the Russian Federation. Journal of New Economy, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 6–29. DOI: 10.29141/2658-5081-2026-27-3-1. EDN: TBCCRA. Article info: received May 21, 2026; received in revised form June 26, 2026; accepted July 6, 2026 |
