Quarter of job offers on Ukrainian labor market offered by processing industry – survey

The number of job offers on the Ukrainian labor market is 116,000, of which 22% are offered by processing industry enterprises, according to the study of the labor market for 2024-2025 by the State Employment Service (SES).

According to the survey's results, presented at the event "Ukrainian Labor Market 2025: Challenges, Business Requests and Reform Strategy," which took place on May 12 in Kyiv, a significant share of vacancies is offered by the healthcare sector (13.6%), transport and warehouse management (9.4%), water supply and sewage (7.6%), electricity, gas and steam supply (6.3%). Slightly more than 5% is offered by the education sector.

In contrast, the share of open vacancies (less than 1%) in the service sectors, hotel and restaurant business, real estate and IT is negligible, the researchers note.

In terms of regions, the largest number of vacancies and, accordingly, problems with finding personnel are observed in industrial and large urban centers.

The greatest demand for workers was formed in Dnipropetrovsk (13.0%) and Kharkiv (11.5%) regions, which may indicate a significant shortage of personnel in these regions as a result of the war. A significant number of large industrial enterprises here need more workers, the shortage of which is due to the security situation and mobilization, according to the published results.

It is noted the largest share of enterprises that had open vacancies at the time of the survey (over 40% of enterprises) is noted in the water supply, public administration and healthcare sectors. The smallest share of enterprises with open vacancies is in the information, real estate, trade, and hotel and restaurant sectors.

The survey notes that the generally stable functioning and high level of demand for workers in the state sector, healthcare, and utilities indicate a significant shortage of personnel caused by mobilization, migration and low wages.

In the regional context, the shares of enterprises with open vacancies differ insignificantly and mostly range from 20% to 34%. The largest shares of such vacancies are in Mykolaiv (34.2%), Rivne (34.1%) and Volyn (34.1%) regions.

Such values ​​can generally be explained by a significant shortage in a relatively stable economic situation, the study says. It is assumed that Mykolaiv region faces greater problems due to the industrial specificity of the region and the security situation due to proximity to the frontline, mobilization and migration.

At the same time, the smallest shares of enterprises with open vacancies are in Kyiv (10.4%), Zaporizhia (16.9%), Vinnytsia (18.9%) and Odesa (19.9%) regions, but for different reasons. Thus, the capital traditionally has a high concentration of qualified personnel, which reduces the need for open vacancies. Many enterprises have adapted to remote work, which reduces the need for active recruitment and high competition in the labor market contributes to the rapid filling of vacancies, researchers say. However, Zaporizhia region is a frontline region with high risks for business, where private enterprises have suspended or reduced the scale of their activities, which reduces the need for new employees. Added to this is the emigration of the working-age population and the lack of significant investments in development.

Vinnytsia and Odesa regions are relatively stable regions where economic activity is gradually declining. On the other hand, the trade and transport sectors are gaining opportunities to fill vacancies more quickly.

Regarding the employment structure, in 2024 the main share of employees belonged to the age group of 25-60 years (80.5%). Youth under 25 years old accounted for only 6.4%, which indicates difficulties in attracting young personnel. The largest number of older employees is concentrated in the water supply, education and medicine sectors, which creates risks of personnel shortages in the future. According to the survey results, during 2024 there was a decrease in the number of employees by 1.1%.

The employer survey lasted from December 17, 2024 to January 31, 2025. The State Employment Service surveyed almost 55,000 employers. The criterion for selecting enterprises was their belonging to economically active enterprises with an average number of employees of ten or more people. The survey did not include enterprises that belong to or are related to the defense complex or are located in the uncontrolled territory of Ukraine.