Over 720,000 Russians have been brought out of shadow employment since the beginning of the year.

09:11; 10 November 2025 year

**In 2025, 720,000 Workers Legalized in Russia** In the first part of 2025, Russia has legalized 720,000 workers who were previously employed in the shadow economy, an increase of 100,000 compared to the previous year, according to data from the Ministry of Labor, as reported by *Izvestia*. Over the past three years, a total of 2.2 million workers have been legalized. The highest concentration of illegal employment relationships is traditionally found in small and micro-businesses, particularly in sectors such as trade, auto repair, household services, and the beauty industry. The increase in detected cases of illegal employment is attributed to ongoing inspections of formally unemployed individuals. The process of formalizing employment is also linked to a labor shortage. Workers themselves are gradually opting for official employment over informal arrangements. However, companies are still trying to attract workers without proper documentation to save on insurance contributions, despite rising costs due to high rates and tax changes. To further combat illegal employment and tax evasion, the Ministry of Labor has prepared a draft order to expand the list of publicly available data. Specifically, the Federal Tax Service will pay attention to information such as companies hiring more than 35 self-employed individuals or individual entrepreneurs with monthly incomes exceeding 35,000 rubles. **Previously, the Russian government approved a plan to combat illegal employment until 2027.** The document includes about two dozen measures aimed at identifying cases of substitution of labor contracts with civil law contracts: creating a registry of employers who have been found to have illegal workers; analyzing the number of unemployed citizens; assessing the scale of the shadow labor market; conducting an information and explanatory campaign; and monitoring the effectiveness of decisions taken.

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