Staff shortages are felt across all sectors: what’s happening in Ukraine's labor market?

The labor shortage is felt across all sectors: what is happening in the job market of Ukraine

Ukrainian companies unanimously report a shortage of personnel, and this issue has become one of the main challenges in the labor market, worsening year by year. Previously, the scarcity of workers was mainly evident in the search for specialists in specific trades, particularly among manual labor professions, but now businesses are facing a deficit across all worker categories.

This is outlined in a study by the staffing portal GRC.ua titled "Labor Market Barometer 2024. Forecasts for 2025," as reported by UNIAN.

"However, this does not mean that employment challenges have decreased, nor that specialists are finding new jobs more easily. Current employees and active job seekers indicate that the average job search duration remains around six months, there are fewer vacancies in their professions, and it is also difficult to find positions with decent pay," the analysts noted.

Throughout 2024, over half of the companies (60%) faced a personnel shortage across all worker categories. Moreover, 2024 saw more stability regarding employee retention. In 2023, 29% of companies reported 100% employee retention, while this figure rose by 10% in 2024.

The issue of labor shortages across all worker categories became the primary focus for employers in 2024, pushing challenges like emigration, employment of military personnel, and their integration into professional life, as well as changes in the geographical distribution of the labor market and workforce placement within Ukraine, to the background.

However, as analysts point out, in challenging economic conditions, employers cannot fully meet the salary demands of workers.

"Almost half of the specialists (45%) actively seeking work or planning to change jobs soon report that they are unable to find positions with satisfactory salaries. While Ukrainian companies strive to maintain competitive salary levels, rising inflation exacerbates dissatisfaction among Ukrainians regarding their income," the study states.

A significant reason for difficulties in filling vacancies is the mismatch between the business's current demand for specialists in certain professions and the qualifications of those available in the market. Workers agree with employers on this point. One in five specialists (21%) has noticed a decrease in job vacancies in their field and feels underappreciated. Nonetheless, recognizing this issue, Ukrainians are willing to change professions and agree to retrain. Over the past year, the proportion of specialists wanting to acquire a new profession to be more in demand in the labor market increased from 54% in 2023 to 63% by the end of 2024.

Among other employment issues, communication problems with recruiters, age discrimination by employers, and difficulties faced by internally displaced persons (IDPs) and veterans in job searching were frequently mentioned.

As GRC.ua analysts summarized, the labor market today exhibits a paradox where employers are experiencing an increasing labor shortage, yet specialists cannot find jobs.

"There are many explanations for this phenomenon. However, both employers and specialists unanimously identified two main issues: the mismatch between salary expectations of specialists and the payment capabilities of employers, and the fact that today's needs of employers for specialists in certain professions and qualifications are not being met by the available workforce," the study highlights.