How Teacher Salaries and Market Averages Have Changed Over Six Years

The Cabinet of Ministers has included a salary increase for teachers in the draft state budget for 2026. It is expected that educators’ salaries will rise by 50% in two stages: by 30% starting January 1, 2026, and by another 20% starting September 1 of the same year.

This is reported by AgroReview

In 2025, Ukrainian teachers are already receiving bonuses: starting in January, the increase was 1,000 hryvnias, and by September, this supplement had risen to 2,000 hryvnias. Meanwhile, the average salary in Ukraine in the first quarter of 2025 nearly reached 23,500 hryvnias, which is 24% higher than the figure for the same period in 2024. At the same time, teachers’ salaries increased by only 13% over the year.

Dynamics of Changes in Educators’ Salaries from 2019 to 2025

The publication “Slovo i Dilo” conducted a detailed analysis of changes in the average salary of teachers over the past six years and compared these figures with the average salary in the Ukrainian labor market.

• 2019: According to the State Statistics Service, in the first quarter of 2019, the average salary in the education sector was 7,400 hryvnias, while the average salary across the economy was 9,600 hryvnias. In the second quarter, teachers’ salaries rose to 8,400 (with the national average at 10,400), then decreased to 8,100 in the third quarter (with the average across the economy at 10,700), and by the end of the year, it increased to 8,600.
• 2020: In the first quarter, the salary of education workers was 8,400 hryvnias, while the national average was 11,000. In the second and third quarters, educators earned 9,300 and 9,200 respectively, with the national average at 10,800 and 11,800. In the fourth quarter, teachers’ salaries rose to 10,200, while the average across the economy reached 12,800.
• 2021: Educators earned an average of 10,800 hryvnias in the first quarter, 12,200 in the second, 11,600 in the third, and 12,700 in the fourth. The average salary across the economy during these periods was 12,800; 13,800; 14,200; and 15,300 hryvnias respectively.
• 2022: In the first three quarters, the average salary of teachers was 11,400; 11,900; and 11,300 hryvnias. The national averages were 14,600; 13,700; and 14,600. In the fourth quarter, educators’ salaries rose to 13,400, while the average across the economy reached 16,500 hryvnias.
• 2023: The gap between teachers’ salaries and the market average increased. In the first quarter of 2023, the national average salary was 15,400 hryvnias, while teachers earned 11,100. In the second, third, and fourth quarters, educators earned 13,000, 12,200, and 13,500 hryvnias respectively, while the average across the economy was 17,200; 17,900; and 19,200 hryvnias.
• 2024: In the first quarter, the average salary in the education sector was 12,600 hryvnias, and in the second quarter, it was 15,100. The average across the economy at that time was 18,900 and 21,000. In the third quarter, educators earned 14,200 hryvnias, while the average salary across the economy was 21,900 hryvnias. In the fourth quarter, teachers’ salaries rose to 16,500, with the national average at 24,200 hryvnias.
• 2025: In the first quarter of 2025, the average salary of education workers was 14,300 hryvnias, while the market average reached 23,500 hryvnias.

Trends and Prospects for Salary Increases

Over the past six years, there has been a gradual increase in educators’ salaries; however, the gap between teachers’ pay and the average across the economy remains. The planned 50% increase in 2026 aims to partially close this gap and enhance the prestige of the teaching profession.

“This year, teachers began receiving a salary supplement — starting in January, it was 1,000 hryvnias, and by September it increased to 2,000.”