Half of the companies promised to raise salaries: what can employees expect?

Not only Father Frost, but also Russian employers are preparing gifts for next year. This is evidenced by the results of a survey of one large human resources resource, according to which half of the companies planned to increase salaries for their employees in 2024. However, prosperity will not come to every home. Almost a third of enterprises (28%) do not intend to improve the well-being of their employees.

It must be said that the number of Russians who are optimistic about the future is growing slowly but surely. Three years ago, only 36% of Russians hoped for a salary increase (or its indexation). In 2021 there were already 42%, in 22 46, and already at the end of 2023 – 49%.

Life is probably getting better… So the authorities are constantly improving their forecasts for real wage growth. If last year they increased by only 0.3% (a joke given the high inflation), then, according to the Ministry of Economic Development, this year they will increase by 6.2%, and in 2024 they will add another 2.5%.

In its assumptions, the agency relies on low unemployment and high competition in the labor market. Believing that employers willy-nilly will increase salaries in order to avoid staff turnover.

Of course, taking into account all these factors, it would be nice to give Russians a 13th salary equal to their salary by the New Year. Veterans of production claim that in Soviet times the 13th salary was fixed by law – in terms of material incentives for the “builders of communism.” Currently, such a norm does not exist in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Everything is given only to the discretion of the company’s top managers, if there is such a financial opportunity. Judging by the fact that a third of domestic businesses have decided to refrain from raising wages in the coming year, not everyone’s debits and credits match.

And what should those of our fellow citizens do who are not likely to see an increase in real wages, who barely make it from advance to pay? By the way, according to the results of various surveys, these are the majority – 58%. They have less than 10% of the advance in hand before receiving their salary. And only 3% of respondents admit that until the next payday they have more than half (50-70%) of the previously received advance in their wallet or bank account.

So there’s no point in deluding yourself about the upcoming massive salary increase? Firstly, promising does not mean getting married. And secondly, it is not known whether this increase will compensate for the inflation that has accelerated in earnest. The level of which the authorities predict is 7-7.5% by the end of this year.

– How much can employers raise the salaries of their employees? – we asked candidate of economic sciences, financial analyst Mikhail Belyaev.

“This is a difficult question,” the expert answered. “Some employers will be forced to raise salaries due to the fact that starting next year in Russia the level of the minimum wage will be raised.” After all, formally this is also an increase, albeit not a very significant one. This year the minimum wage is 16,242 rubles, and from next year it will be 3 thousand more.

As for the intentions of half of the companies to raise salaries for employees, these plans should be treated with some caution. In surveys, the answers are not always sincere, especially since no one will double-check them later. But a certain part of the business, of course, will increase the salaries of its employees.

– In what industries or what professions?

– I believe that this is, first of all, the sphere of information technology. She was in the so-called accumulative mode for a long time, gathering strength, after which she made a qualitative leap. IT companies have good profits and can afford the “luxury” of increasing salaries.

Workers – machine operators – an almost extinct class in Russia, can also count on an increase. At least those who work in the military-industrial complex or dual technologies. Employers are forced to raise their wages, if only because this is a very scarce profession and machine operators need to be held on to. I don’t rule out that the salaries of utility workers will also be raised; this has been talked about for a long time.

– The Ministry of Economic Development expects real wage growth to be within 6.2% this year, and only 2.5% next year. Why is there such subsidence?

– The significant increase at the end of this year is associated, first of all, with the military-industrial complex, and also with the development of some related industries. However, wages there cannot grow significantly every year either.