Real wages drop 0.4% yoy in April

Real wages in Ukraine dropped 0.4% yoy in April, after
growing 9.3% yoy growth in March, the State Statistics Service reported on May
28. The average monthly nominal wage declined to UAH 10,430 a month (USD 383)
from UAH 11,446 in March, or -9.6% m/m in real terms.

The leading regions for average monthly wages were the
city of Kyiv (UAH 15,278), Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk (UAH 12,473) and Kyiv
(UAH 10,797) regions.

The largest nominal average wage decline was in
hospitality and restaurant services (-46.4%), real estate services (-13.1%
yoy), and information and telecommunication services (-10.7% yoy). Within the
industrial sector, the highest decline of nominal wages was in the textile
industry (-31.6% yoy), machinery (-16.1% yoy), and furniture manufacturing
(-13.9% yoy).

Meanwhile, nominal wages jumped the most in
electricity and gas distribution (14.5% yoy), water utilities (12.8% yoy), and
coke and oil production (7.5% yoy).

Evgeniya Akhtyrko: The severe
quarantine measures that were in place the whole month of April resulted in
significant cooling of business activity and dropping wages. However, the
decline was not devastating and mostly affected those sectors in which activity
was largely prohibited. Meanwhile, the enterprises involved in support services
were less affected, as well as those with a continuous production cycle.

We are likely to see a similar wage trend in May, as
quarantine and lockdown restrictions were in place for the most of the month.