Russia Has Begun To Cut Doctors, Teachers And Public Sector Workers By The Thousands

Because of the hole in the budget.

Budget organizations in Russia, including hospitals and educational institutions, carried out a major wave of layoffs at the end of 2025. As reported by "Vedomosti" with reference to Rosstat data, in the fourth quarter, 4.9 thousand employees in the sphere of state administration, 4.6 thousand people in the health care and social services system and 3.8 thousand teachers lost their jobs.

The total number of laid-off employees in all sectors of the economy in October-December last year jumped by 59% in annual terms - to 32.6 thousand people. At the same time, public sector employees, doctors and teachers accounted for 40% of all layoffs - only 13.3 thousand.

A wave of layoffs swept through the public sector after a sharp deterioration in the situation in regional budgets, which pay for the work of most schools and hospitals in the country. According to the results of the year in the budgets of the subjects formed a deficit of Br1.5 trillion - a record in the history of data.

With a "hole" in the local treasury year closed 75 regions, and its cumulative size compared to last year increased by 3.6 times.

As a rule, the mode of reducing the number of staff is used in government agencies, and in the private sector companies are trying to force employees to sign a dismissal at will or by agreement of the parties, says Professor of the Financial University under the Government Alexander Safonov. Reductions in the public sector will continue, he believes.

In 2026, 19 regions decided to cut healthcare spending, in some cases drastically: by 39% in the Vologda Region, by more than 30% in the Irkutsk and Kemerovo Regions, and by a quarter in the Moscow and Volgograd Regions.

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