Wage arrears in Russia have risen to their highest level since 2019
In April 2026, Russian companies’ overdue wage arrears reached 2.88 billion rubles (about $41 million).
This was reported by The Bell, citing official data from Rosstat. This figure is nearly on par with the record high set in December 2019, when the total arrears amounted to 2.9 billion rubles.
In just one month, the total debt increased by 750.3 million rubles (or 35%) compared to March. When compared to the same period in 2025, the debt nearly doubled—by 1.4 billion rubles (+94.3%). The key factor behind this situation is a simple lack of working capital among enterprises, which accounted for two-thirds of all non-payments (2.092 billion rubles). Another significant cause was the late transfer of funds from the state budget—as a result, employees were owed 787.6 million rubles, and this amount jumped 62-fold compared to March of last year.
Most of the debt (55.1%) was incurred directly in 2026, while 34.2% stems from debts in 2025, and 10.7% from 2024 and earlier. By sector, the biggest payment problems were recorded in electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply (42.3% of the total), construction (22.5%), and manufacturing (20.4%). In total, about 19,000 Russian employees remain unpaid.
After three years of unexpected economic growth, Russia is facing a sudden slowdown—war costs, inflation, and falling oil prices have begun to weigh on an economy that until recently seemed resilient to sanctions.
Consumer lending in Russia has fallen to a six-year low.
