Wage arrears in Russia in 2026: how much is owed to workers and where
By the end of September 2026, Russian organisations owed workers 2.54 billion rubles in wages not paid on time. A year earlier it was 1.95 billion, i.e., the debt grew by 30.2%. More than half of the amount is concentrated in construction, and a quarter in a single region, Krasnodar Krai. Below is the monthly dynamics, breakdown by industry and region, the number of people affected, and an explanation of which Rosstat data can be compared with each other and which cannot. Each chart on roschart.ru has an interactive version.
How much is the overdue wage debt
Rosstat considers overdue debt to be amounts that have already been accrued to the employee but not paid within the deadline set by a collective or bank agreement. This includes carried‑over balances not cleared as of the reporting date. Debt for intra‑month dates is not taken into account: if a salary was delayed for three days in the middle of the month and returned before the end of the month, it will not appear in the statistics.
The latest point of the monthly series: 2,539,248 thousand rubles at the end of September 2026. For comparison, in December 2025 it was 2,027,216 thousand, so over nine months the debt grew by a quarter. The peak was in May 2026: 2.96 billion rubles. In June the amount fell to 2.07 billion, but rose again in the autumn.
The chart shows how it ended in previous years and how it is starting again. In 2017 almost 40 thousand employees (39.9 thousand) reported delayed wages, by 2023 only 4.7 thousand remained. This is the lowest point in the whole series. Then the figure rose: 6.5 thousand in 2024 and 14.7 thousand in 2025, 3.1 times more than two years earlier. Since 2024 Rosstat has been using a new methodology (order of July 31, 2023 No. 360), so part of the increase may be due to a different counting method, not only actual delays. This is stated directly in the footnote of the table.
Number of employees with overdue wage debt: chart and table
Dynamics by month: what was in 2025-2026
In the monthly series from January 2025 the first point (370 million rubles) sticks out of the overall picture, it is the start of a new methodology, and it should not be seriously compared with later ones. Afterwards the amount stays in the range from 0.9 to 2.2 billion rubles throughout 2025, not counting January, and in 2026 it goes higher: 2.88 billion in April, 2.96 billion in May.
Growth is uneven. From January to March 2026 the debt was between 1.9 and 2.1 billion, then in April it jumped by 750 million. In June and July it fell to 2.0 and 2.1 billion, in August and September it rises for the second month in a row: 2.42 billion, then 2.54 billion. One month of growth proves little, but August and September together give a trend that should be checked with the next release.
Dynamics of overdue wage debt by month: Rosstat data
Which industries have the most wage arrears
The debt structure is highly uneven. In September 2026:
- construction: 1.49 billion rubles, 58.8% of the total amount;
- manufacturing: 412 million, 16.2%;
- extraction of mineral resources: 339 million, 13.4%;
- professional, scientific and technical activities: 74.5 million.
Three industries together account for 88.4% of the debt. The rest are in the hundreds of thousands or single millions: education 5.4 million, health care 0.2 million, trade 33 million.
In construction the debt stays above a billion for almost the whole series, since August 2025: 1.19 billion, then 1.35 billion in September 2025, and 1.49 billion now. The share of construction has decreased: a year ago it was 69.3% of the total amount (1.35 of 1.95 billion). The reason is other industries that are catching up. Extraction of mineral resources shows the sharpest jump: in June 2026 the debt was 9.8 million rubles, by September 339 million, i.e., 35 times more in three months. Manufacturing reached 701 million in May 2026 and then fell back to 412 million.
Regions: where salaries are delayed
At the end of September 2026, by debt amount the leaders are:
- Krasnodar Krai: 609 million rubles, 24.0% of the total amount in the country;
- Moscow: 415 million, 16.4%;
- Yakutia: 237 million;
- Nizhny Novgorod Oblast: 233 million;
- Vologda Oblast: 141 million.
The first four regions account for 58.8% of Russian debt. Moscow stands out: a year ago the debt in the capital was 79 million rubles, now 415, i.e., 5.3 times more. By federal districts, the South (660 million) and the Central (627 million) are ahead, followed by the Far Eastern (389 million).
Separately, Rosstat counts the districts of the Far North and equivalent territories. There, at the end of September 2026, 432 million rubles are recorded, almost the entire amount in Yakutia (237 million, 55% of the northern debt), then Kamchatka Krai (47 million) and the Komi Republic (46 million). For comparison: in the Arctic zone as a whole the debt in April 2026 was 351 million rubles, 12.2% of the all‑Russia total for that month.
In many regions the series are erratic: in some months there is no value at all, in others there are isolated large figures. In the debt‑per‑employee table, Belgorod Oblast, for example, showed both 1.3 million rubles and emptiness. Rosstat publishes only what organizations reported, so in a small region one large debtor can repaint the whole chart. It is fairer to compare regions over several consecutive months rather than a single point.
Overdue salary debt by region: chart and table
Frequently Asked Questions
How much in wages is owed in Russia?
According to Rosstat data at the end of September 2026, 2.54 billion rubles, 30.2% more than in September 2025 (1.95 billion). The maximum this year was in May: 2.96 billion.
Which sector most often underpays?
Construction: 1.49 billion rubles, that is 58.8% of all overdue debt. In second place manufacturing (412 million), in third mining of mineral resources (339 million).
Which region has the largest wage debt?
Krasnodar Krai: 609 million rubles at the end of September 2026. Second Moscow with 415 million.
How many people receive wages late?
At the end of 2025, 14.7 thousand workers had overdue wage debt from their organizations. This is 3.1 times more than in 2023 (4.7 thousand), but 2.7 times less than in 2017 (39.9 thousand).
What to do if wages are delayed?
Rosstat data do not address this, they only show the scale. The employer is obliged to pay the delayed amount together with compensation for each day of delay (article 236 of the Labour Code). If the delay exceeds fifteen days, the employee has the right to suspend work, having warned the employer in writing (article 142). Complaints can be filed with the labour inspectorate and the prosecutor's office. If you want to understand where you stand relative to the average picture, compare your salary with the average salary in Russia in 2026.
Which data should not be compared with each other
Rosstat publishes wage arrears in several tables, and they do not always line up. Annual data give the total at the end of the year and the number of employees, while the monthly data start from January 2025 and are calculated using the 2023 methodology. According to the monthly table, at the end of December 2025 the arrears amounted to 2.03 billion rubles, whereas the annual table showed 347 million at the end of 2023. The difference is almost sixfold, but this is not a jump over two years: the tables differ in coverage and calculation method, and a direct comparison would be misleading. Therefore, in the article the annual series is used only for the number of employees, and the amounts are taken from the monthly series.
Another nuance: the annual table does not include small enterprises (as stated in its footnote), and regions with a very small number of organisations produce unstable figures. The statistics also do not account for "grey" wages, delayed to workers without official registration.
In short
At the end of September 2026, overdue wage arrears in Russia amounted to 2.54 billion rubles, 30.2% higher than a year earlier. The peak of the year was in May (2.96 billion). Construction accounts for 58.8% of the debt, another 29.6% comes from manufacturing and extraction industries. By region, the leaders are Krasnodar Krai (609 million) and Moscow (415 million). The number of workers with arrears grew from 4.7 thousand in 2023 to 14.7 thousand in 2025. Data source: Rosstat.