Introduction . Today, the challenges of labor market development are particularly relevant for the regions as one of the key tasks is to face these challenges to provide the economic growth of the region. The research is urgent due to the significant role of the employment rate at the current stage of socio- economic development. Purpose . The study aims to identify the key concerns for the employment rate and recruitment at the labor market in the Saratov region. Materials and Methods . Market trends and the current region’s labor market are derived from the Rosstat statistics, the statistic s taken from the Federal Service for State Statistics in the Saratov region, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection for Labor Market and Employment in the Saratov region. The study refers to the following methods: monitoring key employment types, comparat ive analysis of the employment rates, unemployment rate, and labor force participation in the Saratov region and the Volga Federal District. Results . The research identifies the ascending and descending trends in the number of the employable population driven by the migration processes and the current situation in Russia and the region. It also looks at the issues arising from the disbalance between the vacancies and the applicants in some professions and mismatch between the employee’s qualif ications and the labor market needs. Conclusion . The Saratov region implements a public program aimed to support the population employment, however, the concerns identified in the study have not been addressed yet. The unemployment rate is decreasing, but there is a trend for less labor force, less labor resources, population aging, more unofficially employed personnel since only 50 % of the vacancies offered by the Employment Services are popular with the residents of the Saratov region. The findings respond to the regularities of regional labor market development, open up new opportunities for developing and implementing the recruitment programs for the residents. Further research could be focused on analyzing the correlation between the labor market devel opment under the economic, social, political, and other factors and the target indicators declared in the recruitment programs for the residents.