ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the (inter)relationships between urban population dynamics and the state of the local labor market (LLM). The latter is assessed based on, firstly, the physical availability of jobs and, secondly, average wages. The research question is: Are cities facing demographic shrinkage characterized by a worse situation on the LLM than that in growing cities? Research of the LLM in Russian cities for the period between 1990 and 2000 noted divergent trends in their transformation under the influence of several key factors. The initial situation of the LLM of most cities at the end of the Soviet period was roughly the same but slightly differentiated by territory: almost full employment was achieved through employment at state enterprises and public organizations; unemployment was extremely low. Structural changes in industrial urban employment indicated an unfavorable trend—job losses in the material and construction sectors, in both absolute terms and, to an even greater extent, relative rates of employment in trade.
