This paper looks behind the standard, publicly available employment and unemployment statistics that studies of transition economy labor markets have typically relied upon. We analyze microdata on detailed labor force survey responses in Russia, Romania, and Estonia to measure nonstandard,...

In the transition to a market economy, the Russian workforce underwent a wrenching period of change, with excess supply of some industrial skills coexisting with reports of skill shortages by many enterprises. This paper uses data from the Russia Investment Climate Survey (ICS) and related local...

To be competitive, firms have to maintain level and composition of workforce they consider optimal given utilized technology and expected output. The paper discusses what types of firms are unable to keep optimal employment, and why. Do firms still report excess of labor or do they face labor...