Russians Dream of Jobs in State-Owned Giants Like Gazprom

(Bloomberg) -- Most Russians regard their dream job as working in a giant state-run company like Gazprom PJSC, nearly three decades after the collapse of communism ushered in an era of capitalism.

Four out of ten Russians identified the government-controlled natural gas export monopoly as their preferred employer in a survey carried out by the VTsIOM pollster, which is also run by the state.

State-owned Russian Railways JSC was the employer of choice for 23% of the 1,600 people surveyed, followed by oil giant Rosneft PJSC and Sberbank PJSC, the country's largest bank. Lukoil PJSC was the only non-state company in the top six, with 12% listing Russia's number two oil producer along with airline Aeroflot PSJC as their favored career choice. The margin of error was 2.5%.

Russians named a good salary and a company that fulfills its promises as the most important qualities they seek from an employer, according to VTsIOM.

Gazprom, best known abroad for disrupting supplies to Europe during periodic spats between the Kremlin and Ukraine, had 466,000 employees at the end of 2018, 71% of them men, according to its annual report. Staff costs amounted to 601 billion rubles ($9.4 billion) last year, down 12% from a year earlier after it saved on future pension benefits when Russia raised its retirement age.

While the Soviet Union's collapse allowed the emergence of private enterprise in Russia, in practice the economy remains dominated by state-run companies. Many entrepreneurs struggle in the face of official corruption and heavy regulation, and cite the use of law enforcement to seize companies as a major concern.

Under President Vladimir Putin, the state's role in Russia's economy has increased dramatically despite his calls for increased competition. This year, the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service estimated the state's share of gross domestic product was as much as 70%, up from about 25% two decades ago. Gazprom and Rosneft together account for as much as 14% of the economy, it said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jake Rudnitsky in Moscow at jrudnitsky@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Torrey Clark at tclark8@bloomberg.net, Tony Halpin, Gregory L. White

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