Labour Mobility of Migrants from CIS Countries in Russia

Labour migration is discussed here in the context of the transformation of the Russian labour market. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of changes in the labour market and to the way these changes affect the structure of employment for migrant workers, their inclusion in local labour markets, and the prevalence of illegal and informal employment. Of central importance is the analysis of migrants’ vertical occupational mobility. It is concluded that the education, qualifications, and professional knowledge of migrants are not in demand in the Russian labour market; the typical path of migrants in the labour market is downward labour mobility – occupying a position that is worse than the one they previously held in their home country. Upward labour mobility is extremely rare and characteristic almost exclusively of unskilled workers