Abstract
Modern global trends are increasingly penetrating into all areas of human activity, and in particular in the world of work. However, the impact of these processes and capacity to adapt to their influence are significantly differentiated depending on the scale of the territory. The article analyzes the employment prospects of the population of the model area of Russia along the center-periphery axis. The information base is represented by official statistics and monitoring data on the quality of labor potential of the Vologda region population. Using the agglomeration approach, the authors show that, despite the external stability of employment, there are still unresolved problems that increase the intraregional disproportions. It is defined that the factors, in some way or another associated with employment (lack of opportunities for seeking jobs and quality education, low wages), largely influence the attractiveness of territories, and their importance increases moving from the cores of the agglomeration to the periphery. This in turn imposes restrictions not only on the possibilities of professional fulfillment, but also on life support processes, which explains population movements from remote areas to more attractive settlements in terms of employment. At the same time, the desire of people to improve their situation also differs depending on location. The population of the agglomeration is more willing to master new knowledge, technologies and patterns of behavior, while the residents of the periphery are inclined to implement entrepreneurial intentions.