Russians’ real disposable income decreased by 1.3% in the first half of 2019 as compared to the same period in 2018, according to a report by the Russian Federal Service for State Statistics.
In April-June, real disposable income fell by 0.2%. According to the federal service, real income as the inflation-adjusted amount of money that people have available for spending after taxes and other obligatory payments.
At the same time, nominal wages are growing. According to the report, the average monthly salary grew by 7.1% and reached RUR 50K ($794) in June 2019 as compared to the same period in 2018.
Russian Minster of Finance Anton Siluanov said earlier that people are having their purchasing power squeezed due to spending significant parts of their income on loan repayment.