ANALYSIS OF WAGE LEVELS DYNAMICS IN UKRAINE AND THE EU COUNTRIES AS A COMPONENT RESEARCH OF THE LABOUR MARKET CONDITIONS

Abstract

At the present stage of deepening the processes of Ukraine's European integration, studies of the state and prospects of development of the labour markets of Ukraine and the European Union countries are becoming increasingly relevant, since in recent years, according to some indicators of the labour market functioning, there has been a process of their separation (structural divergence), which has disintegration potential. In particular, one of the structural factors of their divergence is the imbalance in the field of remuneration.The article is devoted to the study and analysis of the dynamics of wages in Ukraine and the European Union as one of the components of the labour market research process. To achieve this goal, the author used a number of general scientific andspecial research methods interrelated and consistently applied in the work: the method of abstraction, theoretical generalisation, analysis and synthesis, induction, graphical and analytical method (graphs of dynamic changes in indicators).Based on a review of the minimum wages in the European Union, it is determined that in 2022 the EU countries will be divided into three groups: with a national minimum wage of more than EUR 1,500 per month; with a national minimum wage above EUR 1,000 but below EUR 1,500 per month; and with a national minimum wage below EUR 1,000 per month.It is established that the EU labour market has gender and cross-country imbalances in remuneration, while the Ukrainian labour market has gender and regional imbalances. It is determined that there are a number of global problems in the labour market. In the area of remuneration, these include low levels of minimum and average wages, excessive differentiation in remuneration in different regions and sectors of the economy, high and growing wage arrears, lack of connection between wages and the level of employee's qualifications and performance, and the existence of shadow remuneration schemes. The labour market conditions in Ukraine are of a falling type, as they are characterised by an excess of demand over supply (a decrease in vacancies and an increase in the number of unemployed) and a decrease in market prices (the real wage index)