According to the business newspaper Vedomosti, wages of Russian truck drivers are rising the fastest this year reported Tuesday, citing recruitment website Headhunter and freight forwarding association Avtogruzex.
The average salary of a truck driver reached 131,000 rubles ($1,450) per month in January-June 2024, an increase of 74% compared to the same period last year.
Demand for truck drivers was reportedly highest in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don and Novosibirsk.
Trucking companies and industry experts who spoke to Vedomosti attributed the wage increase to a number of factors, including the increased volume of transport on Russia’s roads, the high cost of commercial driver’s licenses, demand for truck drivers in occupied Ukraine and the exodus of many migrants from Russia who normally do these jobs.
According to the data cited, the transport occupation was the only one of the 174 occupational groups listed in which wage growth exceeded 60 percent.
Nevertheless, truck driving ranks 23rd among the best-paid jobs in Russia. The top five are jobs in the IT sector with monthly salaries ranging from 180,000 to 250,000 rubles (US$1,900-2,700).
Avtogruzex President Vadim Filatov predicts that truck drivers’ wages will rise by another 10 to 30 percent by the end of the year.
