In Russia, 77% of small and medium-sized businesses have increased their employee wage expenses since the beginning of 2024, according to research by the Russian School of Management (RSM) and the financial accounting service "PlanFact," as reported by Izvestia.

The study involved 1,045 company representatives from various industries and regions of Russia.

It was specified that the increase in wage expenses was influenced by salary raises for existing employees, higher starting salaries for new hires, staff expansion, and increased bonuses.

Eleven percent of respondents reported a reduction in expenses. The main reasons cited were staff cuts, decreased bonuses, and lower starting salaries for new employees. In 12% of companies, wage expenses remained at the same level.

Since the beginning of 2024, most small and medium-sized businesses have seen income increases for line-level specialists (81%). Additionally, salaries and bonuses rose for department heads (47%) and top management (23%).

Eleven percent of respondents stated that they have no employees who earned more. Mostly, income grew for specialists in industries such as manufacturing, sales and trade, administrative staff, IT, marketing, advertising, PR, finance, accounting, logistics and procurement, and HR.

At the same time, 70% of companies reported that they have no employees whose income decreased since the beginning of 2024.

However, some respondents noted that in their companies, line-level specialists (11%), department heads (8%), and top management (21%) started earning less.