Wage differentiation in the context of labor incentives

Distribution of wages in Russia is characterized by high differentiation, measured in funds wage ratio, as well as by its insufficiently intensive reduction, despite the permanent increase in the minimum wage. This growth is one of the main factors reducing the funds ratio. The article considers whether these processes are combined with labor incentives that depend on how wages relate to the qualifications of labor. Qualification characteristics of labor can be determined by occupational groups, which are ranked by the qualifications of workers performing work of varying complexity. On the basis of official statistics, the average wages in professional groups and the coefficients of their differentiation in these groups are calculated. The obtained coefficients are close to the coefficients, which, within the framework of the Federal and sectoral social partnership, are recommended to enterprises as standards that are adequate to labor incentives. It follows from this that labor incentives are mainly realized. At the same time, these coefficients in many industries deviate from the standards, and therefore, there is a violation of labor incentives. It is established that these deviations are caused by the following main factors: shortage of personnel in industries and professional groups, as well as sectoral segmentation of the labor market into the primary and secondary markets. The interaction of these factors leads to the fact that the primary labor market in industries with the production of a monopoly type supports a high differentiation of earnings in favor of highly skilled workers. And in the secondary labor market, under the impact of growth of the minimum wage, wage differentiation among low-skilled personnel is compressed. Therefore, the ratio of funds decreases, but remains quite high.