Large gap between average and minimum wages for 2026 indicates high level of shadow economy - Zholnovych
Former Minister of Social Policy Oksana Zholnovych says that the large gap between the average and minimum wages in the draft state budget for 2026 indicates a high level of the shadow economy.
"The average salary is what reflects the real state of our economy. And the fact that it is growing shows that we are developing even despite the war. But I would draw your attention to the ratio between the average and minimum wages. If we declare that the average salary will grow and will be UAH 30,000, and the minimum remains about UAH 8,000, it does not even reach UAH 9,000, and this is a huge gap, then in fact this is a very bad indicator that indicates a high level of the shadow economy," Zholnovych said in an interview with the Novyny.LIVE channel.
She noted that in developed countries the gap between the average and minimum wages does not exceed 60-70%, and the smaller it is, the better.
Commenting on how large the projected average salary of UAH 30,000 is for Ukraine, Zholnovych noted that for a small settlement with a subsidiary farm, a small family can live on such an amount, but if we talk about a large family and the need to get to work from the suburbs, then this amount is not enough.
As reported, the average monthly salary of employees in 2025 is set at UAH 25,886, in the draft state budget for 2026 it will increase by 16% - to UAH 30,032. At the same time, the minimum wage from January 1, 2026 is set at UAH 8,647 (UAH 8,000 in 2025).