Real wages increase 4% yoy in October

Real wages in Ukraine rose 4.0% yoy in October,
slowing from 6.9% yoy growth in September, the State Statistics Service reported
on Nov. 29. The average monthly nominal wage amounted to UAH 14,045 (USD 533),
declining from UAH 14,239 in September, or 2.2% m/m in real terms.

The leaders for average monthly wages were the city of
Kyiv (UAH 20,481), and Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk (UAH 14,791) and Kyiv (UAH
14,554) regions. The largest average nominal wage increase was in hospitality
and catering services (27.2% yoy), arts, agriculture (27.0% yoy), as well as
information and telecommunication (25.6% yoy).

Within the industrial sector, the highest growth of
nominal wages was in pharmaceuticals (20.6% yoy), wood processing (17.4% yoy),
rubber and plastics production (15.3% yoy).

Evgeniya Akhtyrko: We
attribute the slower growth rate of real wages in October to the increasing
comparative base of the previous year as well as high consumer inflation. We
also suppose that a 7.0% hryvnia appreciation in 10M21 is also a factor for
slower wage growth as Ukrainian employers often use USD equivalent of wages as
a benchmark.  We expect real wages will rise 8-9% yoy in 2021.