Invaluable staff: employers have doubled their salary offer in five years
The acute shortage of personnel in recent years has significantly affected the salary offer: five years ago, all applicants were offered an average of about 41 thousand rubles, now it is more than 80 thousand, analysts told Izvestia. At the same time, for the most in—demand vacancies, for example, for couriers and drivers, the growth turned out to be significantly higher - four times. However, experts remind that against the background of inflation, real wage growth was not so great — about 24% in five years. About how salaries have changed in Russia and which specialists are trying to "lure with the ruble" — in the Izvestia article.
How salaries have changed in Russia
The most noticeable increase in salary offers over the past five years has been observed among drivers and couriers, according to analysts at the job search service. hh.ru . On average in Russia, the salaries that employers indicated in vacancies almost doubled from 2020 to 2025 — from 41 thousand to 80 thousand rubles.
At the same time, in 2020, employers offered couriers about 36 thousand rubles, and now they are ready to pay almost four times more - 143 thousand. The earnings of drivers have increased from 49 thousand to 150 thousand rubles in five years.
"This dynamic reflects global changes in the economy and in the everyday lives of Russians over the past five years," the head of the research department told Izvestia. hh.ru Maria Ignatova. — Thus, the development of e—commerce has led to the fact that home delivery of groceries and other goods has become a common practice, creating demand for a number of specialists - from order pickers to couriers.
Salary offers have increased mainly due to staff shortages, she believes. For example, employers are willing to pay up to 58,000 rubles to nurses this year, and about 100,000 rubles to doctors, which is 2.5 times more than five years ago.
"The development of technology and the general digitalization of the economy have also led to increased demand and an increase in the salaries offered to experienced developers and cybersecurity experts," the expert added.
In addition, insurance agents, heads of the customer service department, promoters, credit specialists, and surveyors are among the leaders in terms of the increase in salaries offered. The most tangible offers in five years have soared in the fields of transport and logistics, services, insurance and agriculture, analysts said.
Where have salary offers increased
According to the data hh.ru The most striking dynamics in terms of salary growth over the past five years has been observed in the Krasnodar Territory, Kemerovo Region, Tatarstan, Ingushetia and Altai Territory.
And over the past year, the Vladimir, Kirov and Kaliningrad regions have become leaders in the growth of salary offers for workers and line specialists, Avito Jobs experts told Izvestia. According to analysts, in the Vladimir region, the salaries offered this year increased by 62% to 133 thousand rubles. The most noticeable increase was reflected in the income of insulators, car mechanics and painters.
For example, in the Kirov region, the average salaries offered to applicants have almost doubled. The highest increase in the promised salary was for welders — now they are offered more than 188 thousand rubles for a full day, production line operators (up to 105 thousand) and locksmiths (over 135 thousand).
In the Kaliningrad region, employers, according to data for the fall of 2025, are ready to pay candidates about 80 thousand rubles. The rating on the growth of average salaries offered in this region was topped by packers, welders and electricians.
"The growth of salary offers in the leading regions is due to the consistently high demand for skilled workers, as well as the emergence of large investments and strategic projects," Roman Gubanov, Director of Development at Avito Rabota, explained to Izvestia. — So, in the next couple of years, a new refractory plant will be launched in the Vladimir region and production of electrical and cable equipment will be expanded. This will create many new jobs in the region, and employers are already increasing their salary offers to skilled workers.
And in the Kirov region, the increase in the salaries offered coincided with a record influx of investments, Roman Gubanov noted. Among the key projects is the launch of waste sorting enterprises, as well as the construction of new agro—industrial facilities and urban infrastructure.
"Such regional projects directly stimulate the growth of salary offers, as employers compete for limited human resources," the expert said.
The government approves the monthly salary growth index annually. So, in 2020, the incomes of Russians increased by 6% compared to 2019, in 2024 - by 18% compared to 2023. The average salary in Russia, according to Rosstat data for April 2025, was 99.4 thousand rubles before tax. In 2020, this figure was at the level of 51 thousand rubles.
Official statistics confirm a noticeable acceleration in wage growth, especially in the regions, Tatyana Pershina, associate professor of Statistics at the State University of Management (GUU), told Izvestia.
"In most regions of the Russian Federation in 2019-2025, the average accrued salary increased at least 1.6 times, and doubled across the country, while incomes grew fastest in regions with historically low bases — Saratov, Lipetsk regions and a number of other "catching up" territories," she said.
At the same time, according to the expert, the "censorship of entry" is also growing — the requirements for taxi and commercial transport drivers in terms of length of service, safety, medical examinations and digital skills are increasing.
— This leads to the outflow of some drivers with little experience and further narrows the talent pool. As a result, staff shortages in logistics, delivery and related services have become one of the main levers of accelerated growth in salary offers in working and line professions in recent years," said Tatiana Pershina.
Why is there a shortage of personnel
The doubling of salary offers is hardly unexpected, Dmitry Zemlyansky, director of the Research Center for Spatial Analysis and Regional Diagnostics at the Institute of Applied Economic Research of the Presidential Academy (RANEPA), told Izvestia.
—This reflects the 'salary race' that has been taking place in the country over the past few years amid a shortage of staff," he said. — From 2019 to 2024, the average nominal salary (the total amount of accrued money divided by the number of employees. — Editor's note) increased by 86%. If we focus on September 2025, then the increase was 95% compared to September 2020. Another issue is that, against the background of high inflation, real wage growth was not so great — by 24% in 2020-2024.
According to Dmitry Zemlyansky, there is a different picture in Russia. Salaries increased the most in large industrial regions, for example, in Tatarstan, Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Novgorod and Sverdlovsk regions. As well as in the regions where large military-industrial complexes are located — in Kurgan, Tula regions and Chuvashia, the expert noted.
The key driver of the growth in salary offers is an acute shortage of personnel, says Olesya Bormotova, HR Director at Newstaff.
— The situation on the labor market was formed under the influence of several factors at once: the demographic recession in the 1990s, which reduced the influx of young people, the effects of the pandemic, as well as changes in migration policy. Low unemployment and general economic growth, accompanied by inflation, only increase competition. As a result, companies are forced to raise wages in order to attract and retain employees," she told Izvestia.
According to her, IT specialists, engineers, doctors, skilled workers and builders are currently in high demand in Russia. This is due to the emphasis on the development of production and infrastructure, as well as the digitalization of the economy.
— There is a shortage of trained personnel in these areas. A noticeable increase in salary offers is visible not only among couriers or drivers, but also among medical staff, financial analysts, and blue—collar workers such as welders or turners. The logic of high demand with limited supply works everywhere," explained Olesya Bormotova.
According to the expert's forecasts, over the next five years, significant revenue growth is expected in areas that will remain critically important to the economy: engineering, IT, project management in construction and logistics, as well as healthcare and the agro-industrial complex.
— The personnel shortage will not go away, and technologies, including artificial intelligence, will create new niches. It is important to understand that the dynamics strongly depends on the industry and the region," said the HR Director.
The general trend in the market is likely to slow down, but salary growth in these priority areas will consistently outpace the average, the expert believes.
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