Observers note a rise of 13% in reported wages
Median salaries for January-March 2025 have been estimated to rise by 13% to 107,400 rubles, according to a recent study by analysts. The sectors with the highest average salaries are mining, financial and insurance, and IT, with wages reaching 282,000, 275,000, and 226,200 rubles respectively.
In a previous report by analysts from "Rabota.ru" and "SberAnalytics" released in mid-May, the average national salary had surpassed 91,000 rubles for the first time, marking a 15.5% increase year-on-year. The salary growth was particularly significant in thirteen Russian regions, with incomes increasing by more than 19%. The highest rate of growth was recorded in Udmurtia (+21.7% compared to the first quarter of 2024), followed by the Tula and Sverdlovsk regions (20.1% and 20% respectively).
Young specialists under 24 years old are experiencing the fastest wage growth, with their salaries increasing by an average of 16.7% to 72,500 rubles in the first quarter of 2025. Workers aged 35-44 and 25-34 have the highest average salaries, earning 101,400 and 98,700 rubles respectively.
The Ministry of Economic Development forecasts that the average nominal salary of Russians will increase by 51% by 2028. In the baseline scenario of the social and economic development forecast for Russia, the indicator will reach 102,700 rubles (+16.8% year-on-year) by 2025, and 132,900 rubles (+7.3%) by 2028. In the conservative scenario, the growth will be slightly lower, reaching up to 127,400 rubles by 2028.
Nominal wages increased by 18.3% to 87,900 rubles in 2024, according to Rosstat, while real wages grew by 9.1%.
According to available data, while the IT sector has seen rapid wage growth, with average salaries roughly doubling in five years, there is no official or detailed forecast specifically for average salaries across the entire workforce by 2028 in the cited sources. In light of this, a projection would be speculative. The trend in recent years has been for average economy-wide wages to experience moderate growth. If current growth patterns continue, it would be reasonable to expect average salaries to rise modestly above inflation, but quantitative estimates for 2028 are not available in the current sources.
In the forthcoming years, the finance sector, being one of the top-tier earners, is projected to witness further salary increases as stated by the Ministry of Economic Development, with an estimated average nominal salary of 132,900 rubles by 2028. Additionally, the business sector, like the IT sector, is expected to maintain moderate growth trends, potentially resulting in a modest increase in average salaries above inflation, though precise quantitative estimates for 2028 are currently unavailable.
