The transformation of the system of social and labor relations in the country's vocational education has several negative consequences, which include the following: significant changes in the content and scope of administrative and documentary work of scientific and pedagogical workers, the widespread introduction of formalized requirements for their activities, curtailment of academic freedoms, university management on the principles and approaches of business, inadequate methods of valuation and accounting of labor, widespread transition to a short-term labor contract, relatively low wages, etc. All of the above are the signs of employment precarity. These signs are most clearly marked and visible in regional universities, thereby creating a threat to their sustainable development.