Figures from Patchwork Barents show the development of the average annual income over the past decade. Though the overall trend has been positive in all parts of the Barents Region, growth in Nenets Autonomous Okrug has been the most remarkable.
Nenets has the highest average income per capita not only in the Barents Region, but in Russia as a whole. In 2012, the average monthly salary in Nenets was 62,570 roubles ($2,029), substantially higher than the average salary in Moscow (around 50,000 roubles). Even more importantly, the average salary rate in Nenets is growing faster than in other parts of Russia.
The highest salary recipients are pedagogical workers with 68,492 roubles ($2,151) per month, followed by oil workers with 70,268 roubles per month ($2,207) and physicians with 104,306 roubles ($3,276) per month, the Regional Government of Nenets informs.
Accompanied by the high food and consumer goods prices, Nenets is one of the few regions in Russia that has the highest purchasing power. Moreover, Nenets is the only region in Russia without any financial debt.
The rapid growth in salaries is an apparent reflection of the region’s oil production industry. As figures from Patchwork Barents show, oil production has been growing in the past decade from 4,5 million tons in 2000 to almost 20 million tons in 2010.
In later years, oil production has dropped to 8,5 million tons in 2013, although this did not stop the salaries from growing. Nenets still has the highest and fastest growing GDP per capita rate in the Barents Region, a total of $134,476 (2011).
Unemployment, however, has been increasing drastically in the region. In 2006, the unemployment rate in Nenets was 5.5 percent. By 2013, it went up to 7.1 percent.
The Regional government of Nenets reports that unemployment is on its way down again in 2014. Employment is growing in sectors like the extractive industries, construction, trade, and hotel and catering. Some of the falling sectors are agriculture, hunting and forestry, processing industries, education and health.
According to Riarating, the situation doesn’t call for any major concerns. The population of Nenets can expect continued growth in salaries and social support from the government.
