10% Drop in Foreign Labor Migrants in St. Petersburg

The number of foreign labor migrants in St. Petersburg has decreased by 10% over the past year, according to a draft state program. Meanwhile, the city remains attractive for internal labor migration.

Feb 1, 2026

According to the draft program «Promoting Employment in St. Petersburg,» published on January 22, the number of foreign labor migrants in the city has decreased by 10% over the past year.

The document provides specific data: «The number of foreign labor migrants in the city, including from member states of the Eurasian Economic Union, was 327,000 people in 2024 and 293,000 in 2025.»

The draft program notes that St. Petersburg remains «an attractive city from a migration perspective.» Research commissioned by the Labor and Employment Committee showed that in 2025, over 774,000 commuter and interregional labor migrants worked in the city.

Simultaneously, St. Petersburg has recorded an increase in the number of self-employed individuals. According to the St. Petersburg Office of the Federal Tax Service, by the end of November 2025, there were 993,000 self-employed, compared to approximately 800,000 at the end of 2024.