LABOR POTENTIAL OF RURAL AREAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF BURYATIA: STATUS AND TRENDS

The relevance of the study of the labor potential of rural areas is due: firstly, to the need to provide the rural economy with personnel with the required competencies in the sustainable development of the territory and the rural economy; secondly, the destructive influence of the ongoing demographic changes (migration outflow, natural decline) and a decrease in rural employment; thirdly, the imbalance in the rural labor market due to the excess of demand for qualified agricultural specialists over their supply. The prerequisites of the study lie in the formation of favorable conditions (opportunities for expanding agricultural production in view of the sanctions restrictions of unfriendly countries against Russia on export-import operations for a number of agri-food products, Russia’s orientation towards import substitution of agricultural products) to increase employment and the efficiency of using the labor potential of rural areas. The purpose of the study is to develop promising areas for the growth of rural employment, taking into account the specifics of the formation and development of labor potential. When conducting the study, the authors relied on the provisions of the system approach, used the following methods and techniques: deductive-inductive, economic-statistical, monographic, graphic, expert assessments and comparisons. The main results are to identify problems and trends in the formation of the labor potential of rural areas using the example of municipalities of the Republic of Buryatia; formation of a set of measures that contribute to the growth of rural employment.