The changed specifics of the Russian labour market dictate a number of new challenges for the reproduction of human capital. The article analyses the main barriers for the Russian Federation associated with a shortage of labour in the labour market: exhaustion of the labour reserve, mismatch of the sectoral balance of personnel of the target model of the economy, shadow employment, low labour productivity, mismatch of labour supply to the demands of the economy, the formation of demand new skills and competencies, the territorial discrepancy between supply and demand in the labour market. The main trends related to the emerging crisis in the Russian labour market are identified. Statistical data allow us to conclude that the pace of personnel starvation is increasing and cause the presence of the above barriers. At the same time, the authors make proposals to overcome the identified difficulties and also describe possible ways to meet the needs of the country’s economy for qualified personnel by increasing labour productivity, implementing effective measures to reduce the level of shadow employment, additional involvement in employment of the population with an emphasis on categories less involved in the country’s economy: youth, people with disabilities physically disabled, unemployed pensioners.