Profitable path: Russia will create a high-wage economy

During the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum, Vladimir Putin noted that the country needs to create an economic model in which decent and high incomes of citizens will be a key guideline. Izvestia investigated how to stimulate salary growth and which professions are the highest paid.

Influence formats

The authorities have a very limited set of ways that make it possible to have a direct impact on the level of wages within the state, Viktor Lyashok, a leading researcher at the INSAP Center of the IPEI Presidential Academy, told Izvestia.

— Firstly, it is the indexing of wages in the public sector of the economy. But over the past few years, real wages for state employees have been practically not growing. Secondly, the minimum wage indexation is a tool for regulating wages in the economy as a whole, including in the non-governmental sector. Over the past few years, it has grown faster than the rate of inflation — by 18-20% annually. And in the next few years, it is planned to maintain high rates of indexing," the expert noted.

The increase in employee incomes was observed throughout the country, and it was especially noticeable in construction, industry and defense enterprises, the head of the Popular Front told Izvestia. Analytics" by Olga Pozdnyakova. The shortage of workers has caused increased interest in their work. Employers were forced to raise the level of remuneration in an effort to interest specialists and even lure them away from competitors. Experienced and qualified personnel are extremely valuable in any field of the economy.

"But wage growth should be accompanied by an increase in labor productivity, if this does not happen, then the company's costs increase with the same income, which ultimately has a negative impact on the economy," she noted. —— Therefore, in the future, enterprises will be forced to look towards robotics and hire only highly qualified specialists. For example, there is currently a decrease in the demand for junks in the IT sector precisely because most of their functionality is performed by constantly evolving artificial intelligence.

The level of robotics adoption in Russia is still noticeably lower than in Japan, China or South Korea, so interest in working professions will not decrease. Moreover, taking into account the policy of expanding domestic production, the need for such personnel may increase even more.

— Along with the growth of salaries, the perception of the prestige of working professions is changing. This is a problem that industry representatives have been talking about for several years. And this is a correct positive trend that will continue to grow," the expert believes.

Managerial skills

Increasing the income level of citizens is considered in Russia as one of the key tasks of economic policy, Dmitry Markelov, director of government Relations and Corporate Governance at HeadHunter, confirmed in an interview with Izvestia. The state is really able to influence this process through mandatory indexation of wages, the use of tax and credit instruments, as well as through support for economic sectors with the greatest potential for development.

—— 2/3 of employers are committed to stimulating labor productivity growth. Thus, 59% of employers surveyed in 2025 mentioned in our survey that they had implemented bonus bonus systems that encourage the achievement of specific production goals," the expert said. —— In addition, the research hh.ru It shows that every third company (29%) plans significant financial investments to increase labor productivity this year. Compared to last year, the share of such companies increased by 16%.

According to him, analytics show that moderate but stable income growth is expected in the coming year, but its pace may be slowed down due to the impact of inflation and the heterogeneous structure of the regional economy.

High wages today depend less and less on managerial positions and are increasingly associated with rare, significant competencies of specialists, emphasized Petra Shcherbachenko, associate professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, in an interview with Izvestia. An example is medicine: a private orthodontist, whose income can reach about 324 thousand rubles, earns significantly above the average level precisely because of professional skills and the demand for his services. This indicates that the value of specialization and expertise continues to grow.

— In IT, leading senior-level developers receive from 236 to 300 thousand rubles, which is comparable or even exceeds the income of top managers in other areas. The financial industry also stands out: Analysts, risk management specialists, planning experts, and investment bankers are particularly in demand there. Positions of asset managers or heads of departments in large structures are also highly paid," the expert said.

In the digital economy, the main resource is not the post itself, but the depth of professional knowledge in a specific technological field. In order to achieve a high income, according to Peter Shcherbachenko, it is necessary to develop managerial skills and have deep professional skills in a sought-after field.

— Companies that seek to attract and retain strong specialists in the face of growing competition for personnel should invest not only in positions, but also in the development of employee competencies. The employer should support training in new technologies, introduce a grading system where income is directly related to experience and qualifications, rather than the number of subordinates, the expert believes.

In addition, a flexible motivation system should be built. A decent salary plays an important role, but it does not exhaust the needs of professionals. Significant factors include the possibility of remote or hybrid work formats, clear career prospects and public recognition of achievements, as well as additional guarantees such as medical insurance, options, and bonus programs.

— In addition, it is important to expand access to regional specialists. Remote hiring allows you to find dedicated and qualified employees, often with more moderate income expectations, which helps to reduce costs without loss of quality. Transparency and fairness in remuneration are also needed. Employers should regularly assess the contribution of employees and correlate salaries with market indicators in order to avoid feeling undervalued and, as a result, staff turnover," reminded Peter Shcherbachenko.

Finally, it is necessary to plan in advance the growth of the wage fund, focusing on market trends, and build financial reserves. This approach will make it possible to retain valuable personnel even in conditions of economic instability.

Izvestia sent requests to the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Energy, but no responses had been received at the time of publication.