OREANDA-NEWS  Recently, a new middle class has appeared in Russia, which includes affluent consumers. This was stated by Daria Kurkina, Chief Operating Officer of Okkam, her words are quoted by the Shoppers.media portal.

According to the company, salaries in the metalworking industry have increased the most over the past few years, now the average salary there is 181 thousand rubles (plus 181 percent). In turn, salaries in the industrial sector have increased by 116 percent, to 123 thousand, and salaries in agriculture, forestry and fisheries — by 140 percent, to 121 thousand. At the same time, warehouse workers in the country began to receive an average of 117 thousand per month (plus 119 percent).

As Kurkina stressed, representatives of the above-mentioned professions are now entering the new middle class. The average salary in these industries is already higher than that of the average mid-level manager. For this reason, they can afford to buy, among other things, more expensive food, unlike less affluent citizens, she concluded.

As the analyst clarified, representatives of the new middle class in Russia are distinguished by emotional and irrational spending. They, in particular, choose more expensive food products. Unexpected categories appeared in their consumer basket, including ham and more expensive cheese. In addition, the list of preferences of the "newly wealthy" Russians includes red fish, smoked sausage, avocado, pineapples, more expensive tea, mozzarella, pesto sauce. "It turned out that this is the standard of well—being," Kurkina concluded.

Earlier, analysts at the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-term Forecasting (CMACP) included participants in the fighting in Ukraine and workers in the field of active import substitution in the new middle class in Russia. These social groups, as experts noted, have developed the so-called "salary leadership effect" over the past few years. The CMACP attributed this to high payments from the Ministry of Defense (Ministry of Defense) and a general shortage of qualified personnel.