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Unemployment rate (%)
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 EFF
6.4 6.4 8.8 8.1 7.9 7.5 7.2 9.3 9.1 9.3 9.4 9.3 8.8
Source: ICU
4.4.2 Nominal wages dynamics
Real, inflation adjusted wages rose by 11.3% in 2019, according to the State Statistics Service. In nominal terms, average monthly wages were up 16% y/y, to UAH12,264, or $496.
As the chart below shows real wages have received a filip from the rapid fall in inflation which has given the money in people’s pocket more spending power. The increase in real wages has been as dependent on falling inflation as it has on rising nominal salaries.
The biggest increase average nominal wages were in: Mykolaiv - 26%; Rivne - 21%; Khmelnitsky - 21%; Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk - by 19%; Zaporizhia, Lugansk, Donetsk and Volyn - by 17%; Ternopil, Odesa and Cherkasy - by 16%.
The average salary in Kyiv in December 2019 was UAH18,869, as reported by UNIAN. The minimum wage in Ukraine has increased by UAH550 and amounts to UAH4,723 ($190.73) per month, or UAH28.31 per hour and is now close to the Russian minimum wage of RUB12,130 ($193.61) According to the state budget, in 2020 the subsistence minimum for one person per month will be: from January 1, 2020 UAH2,027, from July 1 UAH2,118, and from December 1 UAH2,189.
Real salary growth in 2020 will be 10%, the same level as 2019, predicts Tymofiy Milovanov, Minister of Economy, Trade and Agriculture Development. Referring to emigration, he writes on Facebook: “In sectors and regions where
17 UKRAINE Country Report February 2020 www.intellinews.com
