More than 4,600 Nizhny Novgorod residents legalized their work in 2025.

      26 December 2025, 13:14 Economy

      More than 4,600 residents of the Nizhny Novgorod Region who had previously worked in the shadow economy were officially employed in 2025, the regional government press service reported.

      The Nizhny Novgorod Region is one of the pilot participants in the federal program to combat illegal employment. According to Deputy Governor Yegor Polyakov, creating a transparent economic environment contributes both to the protection of labor rights and to increased budget revenues.

      He also recalled that the formalization of the economy was identified by Russian President Vladimir Putin as one of the key tasks for the coming year.

      "Entrepreneurs and companies that run their businesses honestly should receive new opportunities for development. In turn, for the state the effect should be an increase in revenues to budgets at various levels. The regional government plans to step up work in this direction," Yegor Polyakov said.

      During 2025, more than 8,700 people whose employment was not officially registered were identified in the region. More than half of them have already moved into the legal sphere: 2,779 people signed employment contracts, 1,052 registered as individual entrepreneurs, 699 became self-employed, and 85 concluded civil law contracts.

      Among the leaders in labor legalization are Koverninsky, Krasnobakovsky, Voznesensky and Knyagininsky districts, as well as the cities of Vyksa and Arzamas. Arzamas was particularly effective, where close cooperation was organized with the tax service and the business community.

      The largest number of undeclared workers are traditionally found in the trade, construction and freight transport sectors.

      The head of the Regional Department for Labor and Employment, Igor Pantyukhin, emphasized that informal employment deprives citizens of social guarantees: sick pay and vacation pay, premiums for night shifts and holidays. In addition, the absence of official employment record can lead to the loss of the right to an insurance pension.

      The use of illegal forms of employment threatens employers with serious consequences — from fines to criminal liability. Grounds for inspections can include wages below the minimum wage (MROT), mass use of self-employed workers or significant deviations from average industry wages. Since January 2025, unscrupulous employers have been entered into Rostrud’s public register, which can complicate their further activities. Regional authorities urge businesses to comply with labor legislation and citizens to monitor their official status.

      In 2026, the Nizhny Novgorod Region plans to bring at least 11,000 people out of the shadows. To this end, new working algorithms for municipal task forces have been developed and will be piloted during the year.

      Earlier it was reported that more than 6,000 Nizhny Novgorod residents received training under the national project "Personnel" in 2025.

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