Ukraine in 2025 faces serious problems in the labor market. In particular, there is a lack of more than half a million skilled workers, which creates significant challenges to the national economy. According to Alexei Miroshnichenko, the President of the Confederation of Employers of Ukraine, the greatest difficulties will be observed in technical industries and among working specialties.
The growth of wages is an important factor in stimulating the economy, but this process in Ukraine has some disproportions. According to Miroshnichenko, wages in the country increase by 14%, while the gross domestic product (GDP) increases by only 4%. Although increasing wages should be greater than GDP inflation and increase in GDP, such proportions can create additional business problems, as business may not have time to adapt to new conditions. The main factors affecting the shortage of personnel in Ukraine include emigration, demographic decline and low popularity of workers' specialties among young people. With the beginning of the full -scale war and the economic crisis, many Ukrainians went to Europe in search of better working conditions. In addition, the reduction of the working population increases the shortage of personnel in the labor market, and the low interest of young people in the technical and working professions leads to a significant imbalance in the labor sector. Another important problem is competition between public and private structures. Public institutions offer stability and social guarantees, while the private sector is ready to pay more to attract skilled workers. This, in turn, leads to a high level of staff turnover and exacerbation of the struggle for specialists. According to the results of a study by the European Business Association, 46% of companies in Ukraine plan to expand the state in 2025, 47% do not have changes in personnel policy, and only 7% plan to reduce the number of employees. Despite this, the biggest challenges for business are the shortage of labor, the inconsistency of the salary expectations of candidates with the real capabilities of companies, as well as mobilization and outflow of personnel abroad.
Given the growing problems in the labor market, Ukrainian enterprises and the government should look for ways to resolve the shortage of skilled personnel. One possible decision is to improve the conditions for training and advanced training of employees, support of technical and working professions among young people, as well as the creation of incentives for the return of migrant workers.
