Labour market and employment in the post-pandemic reality: Fault lines and vectors of development (review of the 6th St Petersburg International Labour Forum)

Abstract

The article is an analysis of the results of academic events held within the framework of the 6th St Petersburg International Labour Forum, held on March 14–18, 2022.The attention of the forum participants was focused on changes in the functioning of the labour market and new forms of employment in the post-pandemic period. The new socio-economic reality brought to life by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, which are associated with the breakdown of traditional economic and social ties in conditions of isolation and migration restrictions, has significantly changed the sphere of work. This requires prompt decisions to restore employment, to introduce new forms of employment, to analyze the impact of modern types of work and the changed conditions of its implementation on labour relations and the quality of life of the population. To implement the solutions found, it is necessary to change legislation in various spheres of public life, change the ways of implementing management decisions and, in general, changes in state policy on the labour market and in the field of employment. Within the framework of the Forum, recommendations were developed on more than 50 sites for public authorities, businesses, educational organizations, and the scientific community on improving the functioning of the labour market and its adaptation to new post-pandemic conditions, including on improving labour legislation and legislation regulating economic activity, on improving law enforcement practice in this area, on accounting the impact of digitalization on various areas of public life, including to protect against interference by foreign companies in the digital sphere, under a reasonable restriction on the use of social networks for commercial purposes. Special attention was paid to informal employment and measures to control its expansion. Priority directions of scientific research in the field under consideration, as well as measures to improve the quality of management activities are proposed.