Introduction. The article critically comprehends the Soviet developments in the field of mining management personnel labor regulation. The works of modern authors and Soviet normative and methodological materials are considered. Based on the analysis, it is concluded that the Soviet methodological approaches to rationing the number of management personnel in general meet the challenges of modern conditions if critically scrutinized. In the course of the research the authors carried out a recalculation of the number of standards for ferrous metallurgy enterprises, which showed that the Soviet methodological approaches can have applied value if they are somewhat modernized and combined with other methods. Research aim is to conduct an analytical study of the possibility of using the Soviet methodology of rationing the number of management personnel in the conditions of modern mining enterprises. Research methodology includes the method of theoretical analysis, the method of induction, economic and mathematical methods of analysis. As a result, analytical formulas are proposed with the help of which it is proposed to modify the Soviet approaches to rationing the number of managerial personnel. A logical scheme is proposed, which can be fully used for the final establishment of the number of managers and staff scheduling. The opinion is expressed about the need for strict control of the number of management personnel and the establishment of a normative balance between the number of performers (workers) and engineering and management personnel of the enterprise. Summary. The proposed method is quite universal and can be of practical value in calculating the standard number of employees of mining enterprises