After the outbreak of a full-scale war, the labor market in Ukraine has been seriously affected. According to the UN, since February 24, almost 5 million Ukrainians have lost their jobs: 1.2 million are refugees who left for neighboring countries, 3.6 million are unemployed living in Ukraine.
These are huge numbers behind which is a truly catastrophic situation. Many businesses were destroyed, some were closed or stopped paying salaries to workers, and millions of Ukrainians were left without money and jobs.
Now the labor market is gradually starting to revive, however, it will not return to the state it was before the war – not soon. what specialties are not in demand and how much Ukrainian employers are willing to pay.
How the situation on the labor market has changed since the beginning of the war
Job site Joobleanalyzed the Ukrainian labor market and compared the activity of applicants and employers before and after the start of a full-scale war. Thus, the number of job offers within Ukraine decreased by 28% in March compared to February and by 37% in April compared to February. Since May, there has been a trend towards a gradual increase in the number of vacancies in Ukraine.
So, until February 2022, the largest number of vacancies were available for: IT specialists, programmers, software developers, drivers of various categories, translators from foreign languages, general workers and other manual workers in production.
After February 24, the situation with vacancies has not changed radically. Employers are also interested in IT specialists in various fields, as well as in drivers and physical workers – security guards, cleaners, handymen, packers, etc., but in smaller numbers than in the pre-war period, analysts say.
< p>They added that the top search queries for job seekers before the war included such jobs as a driver, Q&A engineer, security guard, cleaner, accountant, salesman, nurse, nanny, nurse. Since March 2022, among all search queries on the Jooble website, the most requests were for such vacancies: driver, salesman, cleaner, security guard, loader, welder, nurse, accountant, tractor driver, cook, handyman. People are often interested in part-time jobs, jobs that do not require work experience and offer accommodation, as well as the opportunity to work with daily/weekly wages.
For remote work,then by the beginning of the full-scale invasion, most of the vacancies were available in the areas of design and graphics, wholesale and retail trade, advertising and marketing, and personnel management. After February 24, employers most often searched for remote work specialists in such areas as design and graphics, advertising and marketing, communications and telecommunications, medicine and insurance.
Every second Ukrainian is now looking for a job/Photo Unsplash
According to a study by the recruitment portal grc.ua, every second Ukrainian specialist (52.3%) is currently actively looking for a job, they plan to look for a new job in the near future. time for another 16% of search engines.
The mood of Ukrainian workers due to the military crisis of the labor market is extremely negative – more than 40% have lost their jobs, another 22.5% are working, but receive incomplete wages. One in four employees fear they could be made redundant in the near future, analysts say.
Which regions have the most jobs
If until February 24, job seekers could sort through vacancies, now the labor market belongs to employers. According to the State Employment Service, 12 people apply for one job. This is the average figure in the country.
According to the personnel portal grc.ua, there have been changes in the regional context. Indeed, at the beginning of the war, many businesses and people moved to the western regions of Ukraine. Therefore, these areas demonstrate a larger share of vacancies in the structure of the labor market than it was before the war.
As of early September 2022, more than 700 enterprises have relocated here, 500 of them have already resumed work. Today, Western Ukraine accounts for 30% of all current vacancies.
Lviv region leads by a wide margin. This region accounts for 13.2%. This is not surprising, because before the war this region was in the first positions in the West of Ukraine. The second position with 4.3% is occupied by Ivano-Frankivsk region, the third – Zakarpattia (2.9%). The statistics, in general, are not surprising, because these are developed regions with large cities-regional centers. For example, the Lviv agglomeration alone had about 1.5 million inhabitants before the war, analysts say.
Wages in Ukraine fell by more than half/Photo by Unsplash
What is happening with salaries in Ukraine now
According to the National Bank, the drop in salaries in the private sector since February 24 was 25-50%. Many enterprises reduced the salaries of their employees or even left the latter without payments. However, now the situation is gradually leveling off.
Interesting.In the Lviv region, specialists receive an average of 18,800 hryvnia, in the Transcarpathian region – 16,600 hryvnia. But the Ivano-Frankivsk region, which is characterized by a highly active labor market, has given way, here workers receive an average of 14,400 hryvnia. In the Khmelnitsky region, workers earn UAH 15,300.
Interestingly, the Chernivtsi region with a low rate of activity outstripped many regions in the average profit ranking. Here this indicator is at the level of 14,200 hryvnias, that is, only slightly lower than in the Khmelnitsky region, which closed the top three. The Chernivtsi region bypassed, for example, the Rivne region (13,100 hryvnia) and the Ternopil region (11,400 hryvnia). Ternopil region is an outsider in this rating and is inferior to the leader (Lviv region) by approximately 40%, – analysts of the grc.ua portal explained.
As for vacancies, according to the portal work.ua, the most willing to pay sales managers – an average of 20 thousand hryvnia, followed by directors – 21.5 thousand hryvnia, drivers – 21 thousand hryvnia, and account managers – 17.5 thousand hryvnias.
Average salary for popular specialties/Screenshot from work.ua
Which areas are popular in the labor market
Over the last month of summer, more than 5,000 new users have registered on the grc.ua website, and search engines are more actively responding to open vacancies. Taka, the most interested in finding a job are specialists who are just starting their career path and students. At the same time, these search engines face the highest competition for jobs. On average, 23 specialists without work experience apply for one vacancy
The sales sector demonstrates tangible rates of renewal. The share of these vacancies in the overall structure of the labor market is gradually growing. Therefore, despite the high dynamics, the increase in resumes of retail specialists and sales managers and the increase in feedback rates for existing vacancies, the level of competition among these specialists remains relatively low. On average, no more than 3 people apply for one job in the field of sales, analysts say.
They added that the gradual adjustment of the business to commercial activities during the war during the summer, the stabilization of salaries, which were declining in almost all professional fields in the spring, and the emergence of new vacancies encouraged top managers and executives to more boldly look for new jobs. During the summer months, the number of resumes in the senior management category grew at a record pace (+25% of resumes increased in June, +113% in July, and +56% in August). Competition among senior management level applicants is also high – an average of 16 people per open vacancy.
The number of job offers for executives has decreased significantly/Photo by Unsplash
Actively looking for a new job are accountants, administrative staff, representatives of marketing, advertising and PR, manufacturing and agricultural workers, transport and logistics specialists, as well as builders. The summaries of all the above professions make up the top ten areas with the highest search engine activity, the company noted.
Professional areas are recovering at different rates. In recent months, Ukraine has increased the need for specialists in working professions, sales managers, agriculture and construction. Companies are looking for those who will create, produce, promote and sell goods and services. At the same time, the number of job offers for managers has decreased in the overall structure of vacancies.
In general, it is too early to say that the crisis in the labor market in Ukraine has passed. After all, according to NBU forecasts, the situation is unlikely to improve significantly next year. The National Bank believes that in 2023 the unemployment rate will decrease to 27% and only in 2024 – to 18%.
