Ukraine struggles with labor shortage amid safety concerns

Ukraine needs labor, but due to the lack of safety guarantees, each person makes their own decision about returning to work in the country, stated Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna on Monday.

“It is difficult to call on citizens to return to Ukraine after the horrible attacks on residential buildings in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Kyiv, and bombed hospitals. However, we returned from Washington with a serious package of decisions regarding air defense. There will be additional decisions before the end of this year, and more will follow later,” she said on television.

She assured that the authorities are working to strengthen the defense against Russia's air attacks and are continuously working to ensure a constant power supply to critical infrastructure facilities.

“There is a demand for labor because many men are currently subject to mobilization. Therefore, anyone who is willing to work and return can do so now,” stated Stefanishyna, quoted by the Interfax-Ukraine agency.

Earlier on Monday, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Economy Tetiana Berezhna said that the war with Russia has caused a serious shortage of workers and structural unemployment in her country.

“According to preliminary estimates, we need 4.5 million additional workers to ensure an annual GDP growth of 7% by 2030,” she informed at a meeting with representatives of the International Monetary Fund.

Portal RBK-Ukraine reminded that while in 2021 the official labor market had 11.5 million workers, in 2023 this number dropped to 9 million officially employed. After the outbreak of war, about 2 million Ukrainians found refuge in Poland. Polish companies most often pay Ukrainians from 7 to 9 USD gross per hour of work. 88% of Ukrainians declare that their earnings in Poland are max. 1,225 USD net per month, according to the "Polish Labor Market Barometer" by Personnel Service.

“If you were to ask employers who they prefer to hire, Poles would come first, and Ukrainians second. In the case of Ukrainians, entrepreneurs primarily value the low language barrier, cultural proximity, and quick adaptation. All these elements are crucial for entrepreneurs who care about efficient onboarding and integrating an employee into work,” explains Krzysztof Inglot, founder of Personnel Service.