Real wage growth slows to 7.7% yoy in August

Real wages in Ukraine grew 7.7% yoy in August, slowing
from 9.5% yoy growth in July, the State Statistics Service reported on Sept.
27. The average monthly nominal wage amounted to UAH 10,537 a month (USD 417),
decreasing from UAH 10,783 in July, or 3.7% m/m in real terms.

The leading regions for average monthly wages were the
city of Kyiv (UAH 15,694), the Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk region (UAH
11,937), and the Dnipropetrovsk region (UAH 11,002).

The largest nominal average wage growth was in
industry (22.5% yoy), health care and social assistance (21.2% yoy), and
professional, scientific and technology activities (19.0% yoy). Within the
industrial sector, the highest nominal wages were in pharmaceuticals (UAH
19,375), coke and oil production (UAH 17,828), and mining (UAH 16,207).

Evgeniya Akhtyrko: Real wage
growth slowed in August despite cooling inflation.
Probably, the continuing appreciation of the national currency is helping
employers to restrain wage growth. In USD terms, the average monthly wage now
exceeds the average monthly wage in 2013 (USD 411), signaling to Ukrainians a
long-awaited economic stabilization.

We expect real wages to climb 9-10% yoy in 2019
(vs. 12.5% yoy in 2018).