Despite the high unemployment rate, Ukraine continues to experience an acute shortage of personnel in key industries. According to official statistics, in January-February 2025 alone, more than 140,000 people were unemployed, while only 33,000 were employed. At the same time, businesses across the country are actively looking for employees, and competition for skilled workers is only growing.
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The reasons for the staff shortage are complex: the mobilisation of the working-age population, emigration, losses due to the war, professional imbalances, and low labour mobility. The shortage of construction workers, turners, electricians, doctors, and drivers is particularly noticeable. A study by the European Business Association shows that 75% of companies that are fully or partially operational report a shortage of staff. The situation is further complicated by the mobilisation of key specialists: almost half of the companies have critical employees serving in the armed forces.
Against this backdrop, more and more employers are reconsidering their approach to labour. The number of vacancies for women, veterans, pensioners, and people with no experience is growing. For example, women are increasingly taking up professions that were previously considered to be exclusively male, from driving to crane operator. However, the number of vacancies marked with a ‘veteran preference’ remains low — only 10% of all offers.
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Businesses are trying to retain staff by improving working conditions: salary increases, bonuses, psychological support, and remote work. In 2024, almost all companies paid salaries in full, and most paid bonuses. In addition, companies are increasingly investing in employee training and development, and reimbursing expenses for housing, internet, insurance, and relocation.
There is also an internal potential to reduce the shortage of staff, primarily through the retraining of the unemployed. There are a number of programmes in Ukraine that support training for veterans, people with disabilities, women, youth, and IDPs. However, statistics show that in the first three months of 2025, only 13,000 people out of more than 160,000 unemployed received vocational training, and about 6,000 received vouchers.
Despite this, companies remain optimistic. In 2025, 46% of employers plan to expand their staff, 88% plan to raise salaries, and a third plan to increase investments in staff development. Small businesses are adapting particularly actively, attracting pensioners, young people and women, providing them with new opportunities for work and growth.
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