71% of companies increased salaries for elevator workers by 15 to 25% – Agrohub research
11 December 20:09
In the 2024/2025 marketing year, salaries at elevators increased significantly more than a year earlier. While in the previous period the increase was from 10 to 20%, this year 71% of companies increased both salaries and hourly rates by 15-25%.
These are the results of the Agrohub HR360 Benchmarking study, which covered 76 elevators employing about 4,000 employees – almost the same as last year, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The average monthly income in 2025 increased for all key technical roles: in particular
- for a chief engineer, it amounts to UAH 48.0 thousand
- for the head of the laboratory – UAH 43.0 thousand
- chief Power Engineer – UAH 39.5 thousand
This significant increase is primarily due to the deepening staff shortage and the struggle for personnel, while this growth exceeded official inflation. Importantly, the companies simultaneously raised salaries for both managers and executives, both on a salary and hourly basis, due to the need to maintain a balance in the team and avoid tensions among staff.
Payroll growth
Despite stable work volumes and unchanged productivity, staff costs have increased significantly. For example, at elevators with a capacity of 30-50 thousand tons, the average monthly payroll per 1000 tons of grain processed in actual weight increased from UAH 11396 in 2024 to UAH 14803 in 2025. At the same time, the structure of operations has changed: bag storage, which was used by 40% of elevators last year, is used by only 26% this year. At the same time, grain turnover remains stable – in the 2024/2025 season, it was 1.7, which is in line with last year’s figures.
Headcount, staff structure, gender and age distribution
This year, the average number of employees per 10 thousand tons of elevator capacity is 6.2 people (in 2023/2024 it was 6.1, and in 2022/2023 – 5.7).
The gender balance remained unchanged: 70% men and 30% women. Almost all engineering and management positions are held by men, while women mostly work in laboratories.
However, there have been some changes in the age structure: the share of staff over 55 has increased by 3% and now stands at about 19%. Instead, the number of young people under 25 remained at about 7% of the total number.
“The significant increase in salaries among elevator workers indicates a deepening staff shortage and increased competition for personnel. Companies understand the importance of retaining qualified specialists and are ready to invest in remuneration even in the face of declining grain processing volumes. The shortage of young people in the market increases the attention and incentives for older employees,” summarizes Dmytro Lebedev, Head of HR360 Benchmarking at Agrohub.
The HR360 Benchmarking study of the income and functionality of Agrohub elevator staff was conducted for the marketing year (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025), as well as separately recorded data as of August 1, 2025. The study involved 76 elevators (7 holdings) with about 4 thousand employees.
