Considered is the situation on the Russian job market before the onset of the economic crisis in 2008. The analysis bases on the results of sample surveys of employers performed for a number of years by the Levada center. The surveys have been ordered by the HSE in the framework of the Education Economic Monitoring program. It is shown that despite the claims of managers about the workforce shortages in the pre-crisis period, a majority of employers do not consider it relevant to take measures for rational personnel management, and human resources remain underestimated as compared to technological and financial resources. The widespread complaints on the quality of professional training do not stimulate employers to increase the effort to improve the system of professional training.