How the labor market changed during the war

Of course, now the labor market is very much affected by changes in the country's economy and it dictates…
According to the forecasts of the World Bank, our economy will fall by 45% this year, which will lead to the fact that about 45% of people will be out of work. Approximately 4.8 million jobs have disappeared in Ukraine, which is 30% of the pre-war number.
The real number of unemployed today can be up to 500 thousand.
Wages were reduced by 30 to 50%. The decline in the Ukrainian labor market is significant, and affects many in Ukraine.
The imbalance between supply and demand has become significant. The number of vacancies has sharply decreased due to the inability to work in war zones, reduced demand for goods and services, logistics problems and uncertainty about the future.
During the war, business and the labor market in Ukraine experienced several changes in their activities under the new conditions of martial law. February-March 2022 labor market activity declined sharply. Many businesses have closed in the country and people have lost their jobs en masse. Some of the companies were able to move the entire team or part of the staff to safe regions or other countries and continue working. This mainly concerns the IT business.
The situation on the labor market will depend on the duration of the fighting, as well as the return of Ukrainian migrants. 80% of migrants are expected to return to the country. In April 2022, labor activity began to gradually recover, the number of vacancies began to grow, so for 3-4 months of the war, 50% of large enterprises resumed their work; the rest works with certain restrictions or partially. Businesses are being optimized and restructured, with a significant number of employees working remotely, some working at their workplaces, and some on vacation.
The labor market has once again become client-oriented. There can be more than 150 reviews for a single mid-level manager vacancy. At the same time, candidates who work and are not actively looking for a new job are less willing to consider new offers, being afraid of constant changes, cuts, and give preference to their current employer. To search for candidates for positions of middle and senior managers, orders are restored in recruiting companies, because most often this is a search among working candidates. It is more complex and requires a lot of resources and persuasive skills.
On various job search sites Work.ua, Robota.ua, grc.ua since the beginning of the war, most vacancies have been opened in sales (sales managers, consultants, cashiers, sales floor administrator, store manager), IT, Internet and telecommunications.
The least popular professions were in the field of tourism and hotel and restaurant business. It is also more difficult to find jobs for lawyers, policyholders, service workers, security guards, teachers, and scientists.
Most often, vacancies appear due to migration of employees to other countries, maternity leave and not related to business expansion. The main condition for the return of refugees to Ukraine will be the availability of safe and attractive living conditions, including the availability of work, housing and social infrastructure. Even if martial law is lifted, migration can only increase.
Job creation is key to the reintegration of the population. The yerobot state program promotes the development and emergence of new small and medium-sized businesses, which will provide an opportunity to create new jobs.
You can get advice on finding staff or reviewing salaries in Ukraine by contacting us

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