Assessment of the Competitiveness of Economic Activities of the Region in Terms of Employment

In the context of limited investment opportunities, it becomes important to study the competitiveness of economic activities, which represents one of the essential components of the study of the relations at the labour market, and also serves as an important reference point for the formation of regional economic policy and the strategies of business communities. In the article the authors describe the methodology of complex statistical assessment of prospectivity and competitiveness of the economic activities of the region, based on using the method of shift-components together with the coefficient of localization. This approach allows identifying the level (district, industrial or regional) at which the factors, determining the dynamics of the regional employment structure by economic activities, and consequently the level, at which the control actions should be focused to prevent destructive changes. The application of the suggested method was carried out for the Mari El Republic. As a result, the dynamics of employment of the region was traced in comparison to the Volga Federal District, and the key causes of changes in the employment structure were determined for economic activities. The activities, which the region specializes in, were identified. The method allowed defining the areas of economic development of the Mari El Republic and formulating the probability scenarios of economic development for the activities of various competitiveness levels. The versatility of the proposed methodological tools and their correspondence to the intended function substantiate the lawfulness of their use by other regions of both the Volga Federal District and the Russian Federation