Real wages rose over 8% yoy in January

Real wages in Ukraine rose 8.3% yoy in January,
slowing from 10.1% yoy growth in December, the State Statistics Service reported
March 1. The average monthly nominal wage amounted to UAH 12,337 (USD 443),
declining from UAH 14,179 in December, or 13.0% m/m in real terms.

The leaders for average monthly wages were the city of
Kyiv (UAH 17,533), the Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk (UAH 13,786) and
Dnipropetrovsk (UAH 12,744) regions. The largest average nominal wage increase
was in healthcare and social services (44.9% yoy), education (26.3% yoy), as
well as in arts, sports and recreation (25.5% yoy).

Within the industrial sector, the highest growth of
nominal wages was in electricity and gas supply (17.2% yoy), metallurgy (12.7%
yoy) and water supply (11.7% yoy).

Evgeniya Akhtyrko: Intensified consumer inflation
prevented real wages from faster growth in January. In addition, the nationwide
quarantine held Jan 8-24 was also the factor of slowed wage growth.

We expect real wages will rise 8-9% yoy in 2021.
The growth of wages will be boosted by economic revival and rising demand for
labor.