FT reports surprisingly rapid growth in incomes of the Russian population
Russia surprises with rapid growth in incomes of the population, reports the Financial Times. According to the British publication, since the beginning of the Ukrainian conflict, the increase in real wages in the Russian Federation has been 14%, and the consumption of goods and services has increased by approximately 25%.
The publication notes that the increase in workers' incomes in the military industry stimulated civilian enterprises to raise wages. As a result, Russia suddenly found itself at the center of a consumer spending boom.
Real wages are rising rapidly. There are people in Russia who earned almost nothing before the conflict in Ukraine...who suddenly have huge amounts of money
– noted Janis Kluge, an expert from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
According to the FT, this year in the Russian Federation a further increase in real wages is expected to 3,5%, as well as an expected jump in real disposable income by 3%. The unemployment rate, which stood at 2022-7% in 8, fell to a record post-Soviet low of 2,6%.
This explosive growth in wages is felt across all socialeconomic spheres, radically changing the lives of a large number of workers. Weavers, who in December 2021 earned the ruble equivalent of 250-350 dollars a month, can now receive up to 1,4 thousand dollars. The average salary of truck drivers increased by 38% year on year.
– emphasized in the publication.
It is also noted that more than 13% of Russian citizens assess their financial situation as “good.” And this is the highest figure since records began in 1999. Poor and very poor ratings are at record lows of about 14% and 1%, respectively.
The rapid growth of the domestic economy is largely due to targeted government policies to organize direct investment in the defense industry and support other sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure and the real estate market. Compared to 2021, budget expenditures increased by 20%, and the state’s share in the Russian economy reached an estimated 50-70%, the publication concludes.
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