THE IMPACT OF DIGITALIZATION ON THE LABOR MARKET: THE VIEW OF URBAN AND RURAL YOUTH

The article analyzes the main trends affecting the modern labor market, and especially the professional self-determination of young people. It contains the results of a sociological study conducted in 2021 among the population aged 14-35 years living in ten regions of Russia. The study revealed that the urban youth was more ambitious than rural youth, and was more interested in training. The city youth also more often agreed that such qualities as decision-making ability, a high level of anticipation, personality strength, a high level of self-regulation and efficiency are necessary for achieving success on labor market. As for other assessment criteria, no significant difference between these two groups was found. Global digitalization equalizes the opportunities of young people from different regions via facilitating access to information, knowledge and employment. Urban and rural youth have similar views on digital transformation of economy, development of the labor market and role of young people in the world of future professions. They do not see any big risks for themselves in the future, rather highly estimate the importance of soft skills in ensuring their competitiveness in the era of digitalization and express their willingness to work in those companies that actively implement digital technologies.