Due to the shortage of personnel and rigid competition in the labor market, the average salary in Ukraine in the first quarter of 2025 increased by 24.1% and reached 23,460 UAH, and in agriculture-as much as 42.7%. According to government forecast, by 2028 the average salary will increase almost double - up to 39,758 UAH. This is stated in the report of the Ministry of Economy " In 2025, there was an unprecedented increase in wages in recent years, and not because of economic prosperity, but because of hard competition between employers for qualified workers. The shortage of personnel has become a key factor that pushes the company to revise working conditions, salaries and motivation systems. According to the State Statistics Service, in the first quarter of 2025, the average monthly salary of a full -time employee reached 23,460 hryvnias, which is 24.1% more than in the same period of 2024.
At the same time, some industries showed significantly higher growth rates: in rural, forest and fishing- +42.7%, in construction- +35.3%, and in the information and telecommunication sphere- +32.6%. Despite these changes, the highest salaries are still concentrated in the fields of IT, finance, insurance, as well as professional and scientific and technical activities. The Ministry of Economics notes that the key driver of wage growth has become tough competition for specialists. There are several reasons, firstly, a significant part of the able-bodied population continues to be abroad. Secondly, mobilization in the ranks of the Armed Forces continues, which means that the workers are becoming smaller. Thirdly, the enterprises that remained in Ukraine are forced to optimize the states and raise the load on employees, motivating them with higher payments.
In April 2025, the number of insured employees decreased by 124 thousand. Compared to April 2024. In general, the labor market did not recover to the pre -war level, in April 2025 the indicator was below more than 1 million people than in 2021.
The tendency to increase salaries is manifested not only in the usual areas like IT or finance. For example, growth was recorded in the agricultural sector, and in insurance, and in the top management. It was these industries that experienced an acute shortage of qualified personnel, which forced employers to look for new approaches to wages.
The forecast of the Cabinet of Ministers indicates that this dynamics will last at least until 2028. According to the government plan, the average wage in Ukraine will grow annually:.
However, wage growth occurs against the background of limited economic activity. Many enterprises work in difficult conditions, destroyed infrastructure, problems with logistics, energy risks.