The overdue wage arrears in Russia at the end of 2025 increased by 2.3 times and reached 2.077 billion rubles, reported on Thursday by Rosstat. At the end of the year, according to official statistics, 14,700 Russians did not receive their money from their employers – 6,500 more than a year earlier.
In monetary terms, the increase in non-payments over the year – 1.134 billion rubles – was a record since 2016 (when the debts amounted to 1.566 billion rubles). And in relative terms (by 127%) – unprecedented in the 20 years of available statistics.
About 87% of wage arrears are associated with the “lack of own funds” of employers, according to Rosstat data: over the year, this amount increased by 98%, to 1.763 billion rubles. The remaining 13% fall on budgetary workers – 263.9 million rubles.
Wage arrears are growing because not all companies are in a stable financial position against the backdrop of an economic slowdown, notes Igor Polyakov, a leading expert at the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Forecasting (CMACP). In addition, due to the high key rate of the Central Bank, short-term loans, which could previously be used to repay debts to workers, have become unavailable to them, Polyakov points out.
Budgetary workers do not receive money on time due to the problems of regions, which last year received a record deficit in local budgets since 2011 – 1.5 trillion rubles, according to an estimate by Alfa-Bank.
With non-payments and delays during the year, faced teachers and doctors in the Kemerovo region, medical workers in Khakassia, firefighters from the Zabaykalsky Krai, as well as builders of the federal highway M-12 in Bashkiria and even workers of the Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant, which fulfills orders for the Navy and Rosgvardiya (The Moscow Times).
