Essence and prospects for development of virtual labour market in Russian Federation

Digital economy: theory and practice
Authors:
Abstract:

The paper considers a new type of labor market in the digital economy that is the virtual labor market evolving in national and world economies based on information and communication technologies. The virtual labor market is associated with virtual communications and a new specific commodity, information labor services. The potential for the development of the virtual labor market is the key factor largely shaping how fast the national labor market can adapt to the challenges of the external environment and the quality that human capital has as the main resource in the context of globalization. The virtual labor market is poorly understood in Russian literature as a systemic phenomenon; which makes the problems raised in the study particularly relevant and complex. The goal of the study has consisted in substantiating the systemic approach to analysis of the virtual labor market and its model currently existing in Russia. Review of the material given in the literature allowed to refine the set of categories pertaining to the problem, substantiate the term “virtual labor market” and choose the methodological principles for the study. Reliable and valid theoretical conclusions in analysis of dynamically developing new forms of labor communications can only be achieved by using the principles of systemic analysis. Identifying systemic and specific factors allowed to consider the virtual labor market as a subsystem of the macroeconomic labor market that interacts with the real subsystem. The most important component of this interaction, which is important for practical applications, is defining the boundaries of the virtual market. For the purposes of this study, the virtual market was limited to new types of labor communications between highly skilled workers and employers, happening through digital platforms. Analysis of the Russian virtual labor market was carried out to understand its adaptive potential. Based on the results of the analysis, we have formulated the key barriers that hinder its development. We believe that the measures proposed for eliminating these barriers may be useful in analysis and forecasting of the labor market. Most of the conclusions in the article are open for debate, pointing to new directions for further research in this field.