Self-employment expansion primarily fueled by younger generations, specifically millennials.
Ready to dive into the self-employment landscape in Russia, future-gazing with VTB's latest study? Let's break it down!
It's a fascinating glimpse into the world of self-employment in Russia, courtesy of VTB's timely research, aligning perfectly with the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2025).
The limelight is squarely on the Millennials (Generation Y), who take up a whopping 48% of self-employed individuals in Russia. Following closely, Generation X (1965-1980) accounts for 29%, and the youngest Gen Z (1997-2012) claims an impressive 16%. It's clear that the interest in self-employment among the youth is growing steadily.
Interestingly, there's a noticeable predominance of men (60%) among the self-employed, with Gen Z showing an even higher percentage of male participants (64%). This suggests that efficiency and flexibility of work arrangements might be attractive propositions for young males who balance work with education and other commitments.
By 2026, VTB foresees a staggering 20 million self-employed individuals in Russia - a testament to the evolving economic landscape and the increasing fascination with self-employment as an alternative to traditional employment. In the first quarter of 2025, payments through the "Payments to Self-Employed" service jumped significantly, reaching a whopping 2.3 billion rubles.
In response to the growing demand, VTB plans to introduce automation for payments to self-employed individuals, streamlining their interactions with financial institutions. By integrating with 1C programs and launching automatic payment of professional income tax, they hope to foster continuous development in this sector of the economy.
While the specific generational data on self-employment is scant, the growth in employment among young people and the rapid expansion of digital marketplaces strongly indicate that Generation Z and Millennials are gravitating towards flexible, self-driven work arrangements. Generation X, being the more experienced workers, may find themselves more entrenched in entrepreneurial or small business activities, although further research is needed to confirm this hypothesis.
Bear in mind that Russia's labor market is currently highly competitive, with historically low unemployment rates and expanding employment opportunities. These factors contribute to the optimistic outlook for self-employment among younger generations. The rise of platform-based and digital marketplace employment further supports the notion that self-employment options are on the rise.
For a more precise understanding of self-employment trends specific to these generations in Russia, data from specialized labor market studies or surveys focusing on generational employment patterns and self-employment would prove instrumental.
The finance sector may witness a significant shift, with the surge of self-employment among the youth, as predicted by VTB, potentially impacting business opportunities in the industry.
The automation of payments to self-employed individuals by VTB, aiming to streamline their interactions with financial institutions, hints at the growing importance of the industry, finance, and business sectors in supporting the self-employment landscape in Russia.
