Voronin G.L., Dorofeeva Z.E., Evgrafova K.O., Kiseleva I.P., Kozyreva P.M., Smirnov A.I., Sokolova S.B., Tonis E.I. Russian households: dynamics of income, expenditures, social well-being (1994–2024) ...

Abstract

Drawing on the data from Russia Longitudinal Monitoring survey – Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE), the article analyzes the household socio-economic dynamic in Russia between 1994 and 2024. The RLMS-HSE data demonstrates an acceleration in real household income growth for the last two years as real household income rose by 4.7% in 2023 and by 11.1% in 2024. This growth was predominantly wage-driven. Total work-related household income rose by 22.1% in 2024, whereas income received from state-administered transfer payments declined by 9.7%. Household income generated by domestic production and informal sector employment decreased, with monetary income going down by 5.2% and income in-kind dropping by 15.3%. Consequently, the proportion of household income derived from wages rose from 47.4% in 2023 to 53.3% in 2024. The income inequality increased as the average monthly income of affluent households was 2.4  that of low-income households in 2023 and 2.7 times higher in 2024. Following a 3.9-percent decline in 2023, monthly household expenditures rose by 21.6% in 2024. The spending gap widened as high-income households spent 4.9 times more than their low-income counterparts in 2023 and 5.2 times more in 2024. In 2024, the unemployment rate reached an all-time low of 1.3%, while labor force participation increased from 81.3% in 2023 to 83.9% in 2024. The gender pay gap continued to widen as women earned 76,5% of men’s average income in 2022 and 71,5% in 2024. Few workers had wage arrears in 2024 and the gender disparity in arrears exposure lessened. At the same time, 12.8% of retired men and 8.6% of retired women failed to receive their pensions in 2024. Subjective indicators of social well-being improved for the second consecutive year. In 2024, 57.3% of respondents reported that they were generally satisfied with their lives, while 25.7% expressed satisfaction with their household’s financial situation. Furthermore, 24.1% perceived an improvement in their material well-being over the last year and 20.4% anticipated that their families would be better off financially in the coming year. In 2024, respondents also reported a reduction in perceived job insecurity and expressed greater satisfaction with the current employment conditions.