Whose wages have increased and who is overcoming inflation?

The thesis about the growth of the average monthly wage in Armenia, as well as the statement that it grew faster than inflation, at least raises questions: whose wages grew faster?

According to official statistics, the consumer price index for 2025 amounted to 1.7%. The indicator is cumulative and does not fully reflect the pattern of price growth for individual goods, so let’s look at it within a certain range.

Accordingly, 12-month inflation in food products amounted to 2.5%, beverages and cigarettes rose by 3.7%, healthcare and transport by 3.2%, respectively, education by 7.8%. In non-food product groups, there was mainly a decline.
As for some essential products, for example, bread increased in price by 2.1% compared to January 2024, butter and vegetable oil by 11.4% and 13.9%, respectively. Fruits and vegetables also rose in double digits. For the objectivity, let’s note that meat and eggs have become slightly cheaper. However, in general, the price increase is obvious.
Moving on to the thesis that wages have been rising faster than prices, let’s examine which industries have the most registered employees and in which industries workers receive the highest wages. Among the total number of workers (783,906), the largest share is occupied by trade and education specialists, whose average wage is about 200,000 drams.

However, fewer IT and financial insurance workers (45,610 and 24,777, respectively) earn salaries of over 1,000,000 drams, which, by the way, have increased significantly in recent years, contributing to an increase in the overall average monthly wage. Thus, this picture really shows which part of the working population receives higher wages and how inflation is actually manageable for the majority of the population.