Incomes and salaries in Russia are still growing fast, the Federal Statistics Agency said in a report on Friday. The average wages went up 24.7% over the past year following a 25% hike a year earlier. The inflation-adjusted real salary went up 14% in the past twelve months. Disposable income rose 13.5% this year compared to 8.5% a year before. Experts note that this year has not seen any dramatic economic changes in salaries. Incomes are rising mainly because of growing wages, which make up 40 to 42% of the overall income.

Analysts note that the salary growth is pushed by the private sector. Pensions are still growing nowhere as fast as salaries. In 2004, the average pension amounted to 28% of the average salary and as little as 23% in 2007. Director of Rosgosstrakh’s Center for Strategic Research Alexey Zubets predicts that the GDP growth will drop to 5% and income growth will go down to 6% in Russia. Meanwhile, the Economic Development and Trade Ministry is concerned that the income growth is much higher that the growth of labor productivity. Low competitiveness means that both economy and living standards are not growing fast enough, the government says. (kommersant.com)