Preschool teachers in the Volga Federal District want to earn more than employers are willing to pay.

      From January to September 2025, 19.7 thousand vacancies for educators and nannies were posted in Russia, hh.ru reports. The largest number of offers is in Moscow (5.8 thousand, or 29%), St. Petersburg (2.6 thousand, or 13%) and the Moscow Region (1.5 thousand, or 7%).

      On average across the country there is no staff shortage: there are 7 resumes per vacancy, which corresponds to a level of moderate competition. However, the situation differs in a number of regions. Thus, a severe shortage of educators has been recorded in the Leningrad Region (2.6 resumes per vacancy), Nizhny Novgorod Region (3.7) and Ulyanovsk Region (3.9). In Mordovia and the Penza Region there is a surplus — more than 40 and 20 resumes per vacancy, respectively.

      The median offered salary across the country for educators and nannies in 2025 amounted to 47.4 thousand rubles, which is 16% higher than a year earlier. However, this amount still falls short of applicants' expectations by about 2.9 thousand rubles.

      The largest gap in the Volga Federal District is observed in the Saratov Region: here educators expect 40 thousand rubles, while employers offer only 27.8 thousand. In Tatarstan the difference reaches 10.2 thousand rubles, in the Kirov and Perm Regions — 10 thousand, in Udmurtia and Ulyanovsk Region — also around 10 thousand rubles. Only in Chuvashia do expectations and offers coincide (40 thousand), while in Mordovia employers are willing to pay significantly more than the stated expectations (52 thousand versus 35 thousand).

      At the same time, requirements for educators are becoming increasingly higher. In addition to basic skills in teaching and child development, employers expect knowledge of child psychology, the ability to work in a team, clear and correct speech, and sometimes English. But pay levels, experts say, are not keeping up with the rise in these requirements.

      To poach a worker in Kirov, you need to offer a salary one third higher. 18% of parents of Kirov schoolchildren will take time off during the autumn holidays. High salaries do not save the day: the Kirov Region is experiencing a shortage of workers and production staff.