Ukraine real wage growth accelerates to 11% yoy in February

Real wages in Ukraine grew 10.7% yoy in February,
accelerating from a 9.5% yoy January advance, the State Statistics Service reported
on March 28. The average monthly nominal wage amounted to UAH 9,429 a month
(USD 347), increasing from UAH 9,223 in January, or 1.7% m/m in real terms.

The leading regions for average monthly wages remained
the city of Kyiv (UAH 14,513), the Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk region (UAH
10,512) and the Kyiv region (UAH 9,812).

The largest nominal average wage growth was in science
and technology activities (37% yoy), financial and insurance activities (26%
yoy) and construction (26% yoy). Within the industrial sector, the highest
nominal wages were in pharmaceuticals (UAH 18,829), mining (UAH 13,585), and
electricity and natural gas supply (UAH 12,310).

Evgeniya Akhtyrko: Maintaining the growth of real wages at a relatively high level is
important for fueling private consumption. Cooling inflation contributed to accelerated wage growth in real
terms in February. We expect real wages to climb 9-10% yoy in 2019.