Ukraine’s labor shortage eases slightly for first time since February
Labor shortages remain the top obstacle to doing business in Ukraine during wartime, but the share of companies citing this problem fell 5 percentage points in July compared with June, according to a July survey on the main obstacles to doing business in wartime, conducted by the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER) among 472 industrial enterprises.
The share of companies reporting a labor shortage fell for the first time since February 2026, to 66%, down from 71% in June. The decline was driven mainly by microbusinesses: 34% of respondents in that segment cited staffing as their main obstacle, down from 49% in June.
The picture for midsize businesses, by contrast, worsened slightly: 74% of respondents cited labor shortages as their top problem in July, compared with 73% in June.
The results may signal a break in the negative labor-market trend, as well as businesses adapting to difficult wartime conditions — making schedules more flexible, training workers without relevant qualifications, and similar measures.
Regionally, more than 80% of surveyed businesses in the Chernivtsi, Lviv, Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, and Zhytomyr oblasts said they face a labor shortage.
“In a separate survey, when asked directly, ‘Do you feel a labor shortage?’ 73% of businesses answered yes,” said Oksana Kuziakiv, executive director of the IER.
“The problem is felt most by midsize (85%) and large (88%) enterprises. By industry, it is most acute in chemical manufacturing (84%), construction-materials production (79%), and metallurgy and metalworking (78%). It is least concerning for microbusinesses (34%) and the printing industry (55%).”
79.4% of businesses said labor conscription significantly affects staffing levels. Restrictions on draft deferrals for workers ranked second, cited by 57.8% of respondents. Workers leaving the country ranked third, at 52.3%.
Rising prices for raw materials, supplies and goods remained the second-biggest overall obstacle to doing business, with the share of companies citing it rising to 57% from 50% in June — the highest level in three years, since August 2023, the IER said.
Safety concerns ranked third: 44% of business representatives named it their No. 1 problem, up from 41% in June. This is the sixth consecutive month that safety concerns have ranked among the top three obstacles.
Large enterprises are traditionally most concerned about workplace safety (54%), while microbusinesses are least concerned, with only 28% of respondents citing it as their main obstacle.
As previously reported, Ukraine’s State Migration Service released data on labor migrants in the country. Nearly half of Ukrainian companies are not considering hiring foreign workers at all, and only about one in eight is actively exploring the option.
In June 2026, nearly 70% of Ukrainian businesses reported labor shortages.
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