The Ukrainian government aims to bring at least two million people into the labor market by 2030 as a reform measure.

Deputy Minister of Economy Daria Marchak mentioned that the first phase of the reform will focus on removing at least 300,000 workers from the unregistered (‘gray’) sector and attracting an additional 300,000 workers to the labor force. This initiative is expected to generate an economic benefit of roughly ₴43B ($1B) annually. Overall, the goal is to involve at least two million individuals who are currently unemployed for various reasons, mainly because proper conditions have not yet been created for employment.

Marchak explained that this will be achieved using flexible employment options outlined in the draft of Ukraine’s new Labor Code. Key strategies include expanding the types of employment contracts and enabling more of them to be concluded between employees and employers. The reform also plans to reduce shadow employment by establishing clear legislative definitions of labor relations. Currently, the lack of such distinctions causes confusion; for example, some question when an individual entrepreneur is genuinely providing real services versus when such arrangements are shadow employment benefiting large or medium-sized businesses.

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