Yatsenyuk: Only quarter of Ukrainians to return after war, but they to close deficit in labor market
Ukrainians currently abroad could become the main source of solving the problem of the shortage of labor resources expected in Ukraine after the war, Head of Kyiv Security Forum, former Prime Minister of Ukraine (2014-2016) Arseniy Yatsenyuk is convinced, although he does not share the optimism that most of those who left will immediately return to the country.
"The labor shortage is one of the key challenges of post-war Ukraine. There is no simple solution here... There are a lot of discussions about covering the labor shortage through migration... The key resource, in my opinion, is Ukrainians who have left [abroad]. God forbid that a quarter of our compatriots return and the Ukrainian economy will be completely different than it is today," Yatsenyuk told Interfax-Ukraine.
The head of Kyiv Security Forum also said labor efficiency is currently extremely low in Ukraine. "In Ukraine it is low, $15 GDP per working hour. In Poland it is $37, in Kazakhstan it is $34. There is a two-fold gap in the efficiency of a Ukrainian worker with the markets with which we compete," Yatsenyuk said.
"Through increased labor efficiency and moderate migration processes, we will be able to cope," he said.
When asked about increasing the retirement age, the former prime minister replied that it cannot be avoided, but such measures have a different purpose. "The new government will have to consider this. I sympathize with them. In France, Macron considered it – see what rating he has? Increasing the retirement age is one of the elements of stabilizing the pension system. This is not a magic bullet [miracle bullet], but it is impossible to do without it. This is a set of measures to ensure that the Pension Fund does not go bankrupt," Yatsenyuk said.