Page 46 - RusRPTDec22

4.5.2 Income dynamics
The drop in household incomes gained slight momentum in the third quarter, falling by 2.5% y/y in real terms. The drop so far has been less precipitous than in the recessions of 2015–2016 and 2020. Real disposable incomes, i.e. income after taxes, interest payments and other necessary payments, were down by nearly 3.5% y/y.
The on-year drop in wage income, which represents nearly 60% of household income, slowed in real terms to less than 3% in the third quarter. Real wages in the corporate sector were fairly stable all summer even with the kick-in of economic recession and a sharp decline in government subsidies to companies. Real wages in the government sectors, in contrast, were down by about 6% y/y in the third quarter.
High inflation has also meant that government social support programmes have not managed to keep up with the loss of household purchasing power. For the first three quarters of this year, the value of social support benefits was down by 3% y/y in real terms. Notable variations 0f social benefits within several past years have depended partly on the speed at which the country’s leadership has responded with additions to social support. For example, an extra pension increase to compensate for higher inflation was implemented on 1 June. Instead, social supports plunged on-year in real terms in the third quarter. Some of this drop reflects the high basis of autumn 2021, when
46 RUSSIA Country Report December 2022 www.intellinews.com