Do digital technologies affect the hiring and firing of older workers? Evidence from Russia

Applied Economics. 2026. Vol. 58. No. 12. P. 2398–2410.

Smirnykh L. I.

This study analyses the impact of digital technology adoption by enterprises on the hiring and firing of older workers. Data from the Russian Enterprise Survey for 2021–2022 are used for the analysis. Estimates are conducted for workers of retirement and pre-retirement age. The impact of enterprise digitalization on hiring and firing and the probability that firing will exceed hiring are estimated using Tobit and Probit models with an endogenous regressor. The results indicate that a high proportion of long-tenured workers hinders the hiring of older workers. At the same time, the digitalization of enterprises has a positive impact on the hiring of workers. However, highly digitalized enterprises also fire more workers than non-digitalized enterprises. At the same time, the higher the level of enterprises’ digitalization, the greater is the excess of firing over hiring. Older workers need to improve digital literacy skills to remain employed and competitive in the labour market.

Keywords: employment, digitalisation, older workers, hiring and firing

Publication based on the results of: Career Trajectories and Chains of Human Capital Formation in the Russian Labor Market (2024)