Labor Shortage in Ukraine: Businesses Are Finding Staff More Often, but Problems Remain
Ukrainian businesses continue to experience a severe shortage of workers – over half of companies face difficulties in finding personnel. According to research, 57% of enterprises reported hiring challenges, the lowest figure in the past six months, indicating some improvement in the labor market situation.
This is reported by AgroReview
Staffing Situation: Who Are Ukrainian Companies Looking For
The main challenge for businesses remains the search for both skilled and unskilled personnel. Specifically, 47.8% of enterprises cannot fill specialist vacancies, while 36.3% have difficulties hiring workers without special qualifications. The labor shortage is significantly impacted by mobilization and the mass departure of workers abroad, complicating the stable operation of companies.
Despite the challenging circumstances, businesses are showing some optimism: since October 2024, a trend towards improvement in the labor market has been recorded for the first time. Although 57% of respondents consider the labor shortage a serious problem, this is lower than in previous months.
Other Barriers and Business Recovery Dynamics
In addition to the lack of workers, enterprises face a number of other difficulties. Significant barriers remain the risks of conducting business (54%) and the rising costs of materials and raw materials (43%). In contrast, complaints about power supply disruptions have significantly decreased – only 6% of respondents reported this issue, the lowest figure since September 2022.
The share of companies reporting a decline in demand for products has also decreased: in April, this figure was 28%, down from 32% previously. Despite the challenges, businesses are demonstrating cautious optimism. The business activity recovery index in April changed little – 0.13 compared to 0.12 in March, but the index of expected changes rose from 0.11 to 0.15, indicating increased confidence in the future.
Positive shifts are observed in the manufacturing sector: the share of companies increasing production volumes reached 26.2%. Export volumes have also increased – the index of changes in this area reached 0.23, the highest level since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
“Most enterprises have a neutral attitude towards the government’s economic policy (63%), but the share of those who assess it positively has doubled – from 2% in March to 4% in April. Negative assessments were expressed by 24%, while another 10% were undecided.”
Additionally, a decrease in price pressure has been recorded: fewer companies are reporting increases in the cost of raw materials and finished products, and expectations for further price increases remain moderate.