Policy approach towards employment has changed under perestroïka. The emphasis is falling on the release of labour from the material branches and on its partial redeployment in the service sector in general and in the cooperative sphere in particular.The pattern of labour redeployment, however, does not suggest that under perestroïka the labour market has become less taut. Since cooperative and individual activities draw out of the state sphere the best cadres, the inefficiency of the state economy could increase. Recurrent criticism against cooperatives and price control measures indicate that political and ideological barriers against private enterprise are still considerable.
