In Ukraine, salaries are growing fastest in the education sector - over the year they increased by 33.9%, ahead of IT and construction. It is noted that this situation occurs due to a shortage of personnel and an increase in government funding, which forces employers to actively raise wages. This is stated in the June Macroeconomic and Monetary Review of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). According to the State Statistics Service, in April 2026, the average salary in Ukraine reached 30.5 thousand. UAH. Compared to the same period last year:.
Ukrainians actually feel an increase in purchasing power, despite inflationary pressure. The most unexpected result was that wages are growing fastest not in IT, not in construction, and not even in industry. The absolute leader in the rate of increase in wages was the education sector, where employee incomes increased by 33.9% year on year.. Experts explain this by several factors:.
Thus, it was the educational sector that turned out to be the most dynamic in terms of salary growth in 2026. In addition to education, wage increases have significantly accelerated in other areas financed from the state budget. In general, the public sector demonstrates stable dynamics of income growth, which is explained by the need to retain employees in conditions of competition with private business. At the same time, the private sector also continues to actively raise wages due to a lack of qualified workers. The labor market in Ukraine is gradually recovering, the number of full-time employees has been growing since November 2025. The greatest expansion of staff was recorded in the following industries:.
The National Bank explains this dynamics by the fact that some companies work for the needs of the military-industrial complex and fulfill government orders. Despite the fact that in general the number of resumes on the labor market still exceeds the number of vacancies, employers are increasingly faced with a shortage of qualified personnel.
NBU specialists note that the problem is not so much a shortage of people, but rather a mismatch between the skills of candidates and the requirements of employers; this creates a structural imbalance in the labor market. According to job search platforms, in May 2026:.
Competition among applicants is gradually decreasing, and employers have a smaller choice of candidates. In such conditions, companies are forced to increase wages in order to attract the right workers..
The growth of incomes of Ukrainians occurs not only due to salaries. The NBU notes that pensions are also growing in real terms, supporting the overall level of consumption of the population. Experts predict that the growth trend will continue in the future.
The main factor will remain the shortage of qualified personnel, which forces employers to compete for workers by increasing wages. The most active income growth is expected in areas where the demand for specialists exceeds supply.