The total wage arrears in Ukraine in May of this year fell by 6.1%, and as of June 1, 2021 amounted to UAH 3.351 billion, and since early 2021 they grew by 28.3%, the State Statistics Service said last week.
According to the service, the amount of wage arrears at enterprises that stopped filing reports during 2019-2020 amounted to UAH 166.1 million on the same date.
As reported by the statistics authority, a reduction in wage arrears in May 2021 was recorded in Luhansk (by 73.7%), Volyn (by 49%), Lviv (by 21.7%), Donetsk (by 17.5%), Kirovohrad (by 9.5%) and Chernihiv (by 2.9%) regions.
At the same time, an increase in wage arrears was seen in Khmelnytska (by 36.8%), Zakarpattia (by 19.8%), Cherkaska (by 14.5%), Kherson (by 12.7%), Zaporizhia (by 12.6%), Ivano-Frankivsk (by 11.7%), Vinnytsia (11.3%), Zhytomyr (10.5%), Rivne (8.3%), Dnipropetrovsk (7.4%), Kyiv and Ternopil (6.4%) %), Odesa (5.2%) regions and Kyiv city (0.7%).
The State Statistics Service said that among economic sectors in May 2021, wage arrears grew in in the field of administrative and support services – by 21.9% (to UAH 17.93 million), financial and insurance activities – by 20% (to UAH 0.23 million), agriculture – by12.9% (to UAH 74.52 million), in real estate transactions – by 12.5% (to UAH 41.04 million), education – by 12.5% (to UAH 20.59 million), in wholesale and retail trade – by 11% (to UAH 40.26 million), professional, scientific and technical activities – by 7% (to UAH 274.27 million), at transport, warehouse and courier enterprises – by 4.8% (to UAH 193.72 million), in the field of informatization and telecommunications – by 4.2% (to UAH 15.91 million), and construction – by 2.4% (to UAH 84.14 million).
At the same time, in the field of art, sports, entertainment and recreation, wage arrears decreased 10% (to UAH 1.74 million), in industry – 9.6% (to UAH 2.506 billion), in the field of temporary accommodation and catering 7.7% (to UAH 1.89 million), healthcare – 3.7% (to UAH 69.72 million), public administration, defense and compulsory social insurance – 2.3% (to UAH 5.38 million).
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine expects inflation to drop to 6.2% in 2022, and salary growth will be from 8% to 10% in the next three years, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said following the results of the government-approved Budget Declaration and the 2022-2024 Forecast of Economic and Social Development.
“The growth of salaries in the next three years will be approximately 8% to 10% per year (taking into account inflation). Inflation will return to the target of 5% in 2023, and it will be 6.2% in 2022,” Shmyhal said in Telegram channel on Wednesday.
At the same time, the hryvnia exchange rate is expected in the range of UAH 28 or UAH 29 per $1 in 2022-2023, the head of government said.
According to him, the approved documents provide for the reduction of the budget deficit by almost half and the return of this indicator to the planned 3% in 2023.
“The public debt is planned to be reduced to less than 50% of GDP,” Shmyhal said.
At the same time, from 2023, Ukraine will be able to enter a stable trend of economic development by 5% per year, he said.
The government at its meeting on April 15 will address the issue with salaries for the medical men, who fight against coronavirus, Health Minister of Ukraine Maksym Stepanov said during a press briefing in Kyiv on Monday morning.
“During the next meeting of the government, amendments will be made to the resolution regarding the settlement of the issue of 300% salary for medical men in March,” the minister said.
