According to the latest report by the Ukrainian government statistics department, the average wage in Ukraine in December 2018 was 10,573 hryvnia (USD 380). In December the average wage was 15.4% higher than in November.

High December wages

Wages in the last month of the year are typically higher because of yearly bonuses. So, it’s not surprising that the average wage for the month of December reached the level of 10,5 thousand hryvnia ($380) with the jump of over 15% to the previous month.

Compared to December 2017 the growth was smaller: 9.7%.

In January salaries are expected to be much lower, since a large part of the month people were on Christmas holidays, so the workers getting daily rates will be paid less.

Since salaries in Ukraine are paid monthly, not weekly, in the first days of the month following the one for which the worker is paid, we will only find out how much Ukrainians earned in January 2019 sometime closer to the end of February.

Hey, big earner

• In the industrial sector, employees earned on average 11,563 hryvnia ($416) in December 2018.
• Even higher pay checks are in IT (15,518 hryvnia or $558) and science and technology sector (15,490 UAH or $557).
• Employees of the insurance industry earned on average over 18,000 UAH ($650).
• In Kiev, the average December wage was 16,5 thousand UAH ($593).

The minimum wage in Ukraine is now 4171 hryvnia per month ($150), which is 450 hryvnia ($16) higher than in 2018.

Volodymyr Groysman, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, said that the average salary in Ukraine in 2019 will reach 10,5 thousand hryvnia ($380) or possibly grow even higher.

While you may think it’s very low, it’s actually twice as much as locals earned 3 years ago.

The minimum salary has grown 3 times since then, from $50 to $150. It’s a good progress for the country, which is still going through an armed conflict in the East.

Prices for goods and services in Ukraine are affordable for locals and allow for a reasonably good lifestyle, with a share of people able to afford overseas holidays. In fact, Ukrainians spent 10% more on services in 2018 than the year before.

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