Labor turnover: wage gap between rich and poor has reached its lowest level in a quarter of a century

The difference in salaries between rich and poor has decreased to 12.7 times, which is the lowest figure since 2000, when the gap was almost 30 times, Izvestia found out. This is due to the fact that the incomes of low-paid workers are growing faster, including due to an increase in the minimum wage. In 2025, 10% of employees with the lowest salaries receive about 25 thousand rubles, while 10% of the highest—paid receive more than 315 thousand. Nevertheless, the gap remains significant compared to other countries: in Norway, Sweden and Denmark it is about five times, in the USA it exceeds 13, and in Costa Rica and Chile it is more than 20. Why the middle class is "shrinking" in Russia and how things are in other developed and developing countries — in the Izvestia article.

How wage inequality is decreasing

Wage inequality is decreasing in Russia. In 2025, 10% of the poorest workers received about 25 thousand rubles, while 10% of the wealthiest received over 315 thousand rubles, according to Rosstat data (Izvestia analyzed them). Thus, the difference between the indicators reached 12.7 times, which is the lowest figure for the entire period of statistics since 2000. The highest values were in 2000 and 2001 - 34 and 39.6 times, respectively.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Yulia Mayorova

For measurement, analysts divided the population into 10 groups with the lowest and highest income levels. In general, the indicator has been gradually decreasing since 2001, with small increases in 2006 (from 24.9 to 25.3), 2011 (from 14.7 to 16.1) and 2021 (from 13 to 13.5).

The gap is narrowing mainly due to the growth of low salaries, says Ekaterina Kosareva, managing partner of the analytical agency VMT Consult. This is primarily due to a shortage of personnel in a number of industries where the average wage level has traditionally been quite low, said Viktor Lyashok, senior researcher at the INSAP Center of the IPEI Presidential Academy.

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In recent years, the labor market has been less interested in highly paid managers, says Olga Belenkaya, head of the Macroeconomic Analysis Department at Finam. At the same time, the demand for working professions and low-skilled labor of couriers, drivers, and construction workers has sharply increased. According to her, in order to attract and retain them, employers had to enter into salary competition and raise salaries at a higher rate in order to make positions attractive.

In addition, the trend is not related to the accelerated enrichment of the low-income, but to the systemic adjustment of the labor market, the expert noted. For example, the government consistently increases the minimum wage — in 2026 it will amount to 27,093 rubles. This is more than 20% higher than in 2025.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov

Over the past five years, salaries of top specialists have grown more slowly than those of less well-off people. Rosstat calculates these data every two years. Thus, in 2023 and 2025, the salaries of expensive employees increased by 25% and 32%, respectively, while the salaries of poor employees increased by 29% and 36.5%. If low salaries are pulled closer to the average, and the upper incomes continue to come off, the distribution structure changes: the extreme groups grow, and the middle becomes narrower, Ekaterina Kosareva is sure.

At the same time, Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global, believes that the "compression" of the middle class occurred back in 2020, when the state, through payments to families with children, greatly helped to stabilize incomes and living standards of the population.

Which countries have the biggest salary differences?

There are a number of countries where there is practically no social differentiation. Most European countries are among them. According to the World Inequality Report for 2022 (this is the latest relevant data, because the calculation of the lowest and highest salaries in a number of countries is carried out every few years), the smallest salary gaps between top specialists and low-paid employees are recorded in Sweden (6 times), France (7), Italy and Spain (8 once). In addition, according to experts interviewed by Izvestia, in some other European countries this figure is about five times, among them Norway and Denmark. However, it is in such countries that income and property taxes have the highest rates, Natalia Milchakova said.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov

According to her, the salaries of top managers in the Russian Federation, developed and other developing countries differ little, and the incomes of senior management personnel in the Russian Federation are sometimes higher than in the G7 countries (Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan and the USA).

It's hard: the gap between the pensions of the employed and the unemployed has reached a minimum since 2021.

When will the payments be equal and what does this mean for the economy?

In 2022, the coefficient in the USA was significantly higher than in Russia (about 17). Now it exceeds 13 times. High incomes in America are growing faster than low incomes, and the labor market is much more flexible and less regulated, noted Ekaterina Kosareva from VMT Consult. In addition, the gap in China is also larger — about 14 times. This is typical for countries with rapid technological development and strong internal differentiation, she noted. At the same time, in Costa Rica, Turkey and Chile, the figure exceeds 20 times.

Russia's closest neighbors also have significantly lower income inequality. In Kazakhstan, the gap between 10% of the highest-paid and 10% of the poorest employees is about six times, the expert added. According to her, in Belarus it is about 6.1.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Anna Selina

As Izvestia reported earlier, in January – August 2025, real wages in the country increased by 4.4%, while the Ministry of Energy expected 6.8%. During this period, the average earnings amounted to about 96 thousand rubles.

There is indeed a high level of social differentiation in Russia, Natalia Milchakova noted. However, in recent years, the authorities have taken a number of measures aimed at equalizing the standard of living of various social groups. Now pensions and benefits are regularly indexed, and the number of people below the poverty line is noticeably decreasing due to social support, she concluded.