State employees were named the most disadvantaged category when assessing the salary imbalance

Average salaries differ by region by 4.4 times, by industry by 10 times

The level of wage inequality in Russia remains extremely high, both regionally and industry-wise. This is clearly seen from the data released by Rosstat for last year. The maximum gap between the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in terms of average salary is 4.4 times, and between different specialties it sometimes exceeds 10 times, with state employees being the most disadvantaged category. According to experts, today the state does not have many resources to level out the current situation.

The maximum nominal accrued salaries were recorded in the “north” – in the Chukotka (158 thousand rubles per month) and Yamalo-Nenets (145 thousand) autonomous districts, as well as in Moscow (136 thousand). The minimum is in Ingushetia (36 thousand) and Chechnya (37 thousand rubles). In the Russian Federation as a whole, the average accrued salary in 2023 amounted to 73.7 thousand rubles, increasing compared to 2022 in nominal terms by 14.1%, in real terms – by 7.8%.

As for the industry dimension, workers in the oil and gas production sector (receiving an average of 180 thousand rubles per month), finance and insurance (169 thousand), and tobacco production (140 thousand) feel better than others. According to the Ministry of Labor, the largest increase in wages – by more than 20% – was noted in the production of clothing and leather goods, computers, electronic and optical products, electrical equipment and vehicles. The most in-demand professions include, for example, engineers and mechanics with over five years of experience, who are willing to pay up to 200-220 thousand in the industrial sector.

In turn, on the salary margins are teachers (from 15 thousand rubles per month), kindergarten teachers (from 11 thousand), janitors (from 15-20 thousand), junior medical staff (from 15-22 thousand), loaders (from 20-30 thousand). Low rates are due to a number of factors, primarily limited funding for these sectors, low status, and low demand. According to Rosstat, in 2023, the richest 10% of Russians accounted for 29.8% of total cash income, while citizens with the lowest salaries accounted for only 2%.

As noted by the Central Bank, the increase in the gap in household incomes leads to a slowdown in GDP growth. On the contrary, economic acceleration reduces inequality in income distribution. High inequality has a lot of negative effects, and of a global nature: it leads to a decrease in investment and business activity, as well as consumer demand, increases socio-political instability in the country, reduces the quality of human capital and labor productivity.

“I remember the May 2012 presidential decrees, which suggested, firstly, an increase in salaries for doctors, teachers and other public sector employees, and secondly, equalization across regions,” says Alexey Vedev, director of the Center for Structural Research at RANEPA. – These decrees have not yet been implemented, but they have not been canceled either, remaining the target setting for the budget. It is clear that in real terms, public sector workers will become poorer, since their salaries are indexed below inflation, and the state is mainly thinking about how to maintain financial stability, limit expenses and not reach a high level of budget deficit.”

As for highly paid professions, then, say, less than 10% of the economically active population works in the mining industry, while its contribution to the budget and GDP is very significant. High added value creates conditions for high salaries. In general, Vedev notes, the sharper the social stratification, the lower the potential rates of economic growth. Thus, if we want to reach a sustainable growth trajectory, we need to somehow solve this problem. For example, increasing salaries for public sector employees and at the same time limiting them in state-owned mining companies.

“The wage imbalance in favor of certain industries will persist,” says Oleg Kalmanovich, chief analyst at Neomarkets. “The whole point is a serious shortage of personnel, which the country will overcome no earlier than in seven years. The lion’s share of companies in the manufacturing sector is experiencing a shortage of personnel, which is explained by the geopolitical situation, the demographic gap and the small number of qualified specialists. Large businesses are forced to raise wages so that the production process does not stop.”

At the same time, no one particularly competes or fights for doctors and teachers: they pay approximately the same everywhere, since payments are made from the state budget. Hence the multiple difference in salaries, Kalmanovich notes.

“Today in Russia, IT specialists, skilled workers and engineers, and couriers are worth their weight in gold,” says BitRiver Communications Director and economist Andrei Loboda. “In conditions of a shortage of workers, the state and business need professionals with education and brains, otherwise such specialists previously had only two options: either leave the profession and do something that generates income, or look for work abroad.”