Real wages began to grow twice as slowly

At the beginning of March 2025, real wages (adjusted for inflation) in Russia increased by 5.2%, which is twice as low as a year earlier (+10%). At the same time, the average nominal earnings increased by 16%, to 90 thousand rubles. Such data is provided in the Accounting Chamber's June report on budget execution (Izvestia has studied it).

Transformation or deformation: why low unemployment in Russia is deceptive

The shortage of personnel in the labor market has contributed to wage growth, but it has a downside.

The main reason for the slowdown is an increase in inflation: from 7.5% in early 2024 to 10% in the first months of 2025, explained Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global. In addition, in the middle of last year, the Central Bank raised its key rate. This reduced demand in the economy and slowed down the growth of companies' revenues.

Additional pressure is exerted by the increased income tax this year: because of this, businesses are holding back the payroll to compensate for rising costs, said Anna Khripchenko, Director of Academic and Career Development at the Presidential Academy.

Salaries in agriculture, household services and construction are growing the slowest this year, said the Director of Research. hh.ru Maria Ignatova. At the same time, there are industries where salaries are declining, such as the extraction of raw materials, minus 6% by 2024.

"The largest contribution to the overall wage growth is made by areas with a large number of vacancies — these are workers, manufacturing, retail, sales. This is where the maximum demand is observed. A 35% increase in workers' salaries affects the market more than a 50% increase in insurance, simply because there are many more blue—collar workers," the expert said.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Money on the stop: real wages began to grow twice as slowly