Real salaries of Ukrainians have reached pre-war levels, study finds

Wage growth is uneven and reflects imbalances in the economy.

Wages are rising in Ukraine , but due to high inflation rates, real incomes of citizens are at pre-war levels.

This is stated in a study by the Razumkov Center.

“In the first quarter of 2025, wages in Ukraine increased. The average wage was UAH 23,460, which is 24.1% more compared to the same period in 2024. Taking into account inflation at 13.6%, the growth in the average wage exceeded the price index by 10.5 percentage points,” the material states.

At the same time, according to the study, nominal wages increased by 54% compared to the pre-war fourth quarter of 2021, and prices increased by 53.8% over the same period. Real wages are at 99.7% of the pre-war level, i.e. they decreased by 0.3%.

“Wage growth is uneven and reflects distortions in the economy, exacerbated by the war and mobilization. According to the State Statistics Service, the largest growth due to an acute shortage of workers was shown by air transport (+51.5%), agriculture (+46.9%) and construction (+35.3%),” the analysts noted.

High-profit sectors such as IT (+32.5%) and finance (+28.6%) also increased salaries, outpacing the averages in industry, trade and transport.

But in 13 out of 25 sectors of the economy, salaries are lower than the average Ukrainian level. Teachers and doctors remained outsiders: in education, incomes increased by 13.5%, in healthcare – by 12.5%, which is lower than inflation – 13.6%, effectively reducing real purchasing power.

“Before the war, their salaries were already 12-16% behind the average economy, and now the gap has reached 27% for doctors and 39% for teachers. This situation emphasizes the authorities’ insufficient attention to key social spheres,” experts emphasize.

(C)UNIAN 2025