During the ongoing conflict, staff shortages in Ukrainian businesses have reached a record high of 67%. According to the 47th monthly survey conducted among 472 industrial enterprises, the lack of personnel remains the foremost challenge: the percentage of companies experiencing difficulty in recruiting skilled workers has risen from 51.4% to 61.4%, while the challenge of hiring unskilled workers remains relevant for 35.1% of businesses. Simultaneously, 16.6% of firms plan to expand their workforce, contrasting with the fraction preparing for downsizing, which decreased from 6.9% to 3.9%.
The second challenge concerns the rising costs of raw materials, resources, and goods, which increased from 43% to 45%. Senior Research Fellow Yevhen Angel from IED notes that inflation pressure over an extended period is a critical factor, oscillating between 39% and 55%. Security concerns regarding operations, particularly the risk of shelling, remain the third most significant factor, impacting 42% of companies. However, this is an improvement compared to the winter months, when the level reached 54-57%. These issues are more pronounced in large businesses (over 50%) and in regions close to the front lines, such as Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro, as well as Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy, and Vinnytsia regions. With seasonal warming and reduced heating demand, complaints about disruptions to electricity, water, and heating supply decreased from 41% to 30%.
Despite challenging times, 52% of enterprises operated without interruptions, and 11% did not experience any power outages. Working hours lost due to disruptions decreased from 9% in January to 6% in spring, with the largest losses reported in the Dnipro (20%) and Zhytomyr (18%) regions. Corruption and unlawful pressure from oversight bodies remain minor challenges, noted by only 4% and 3% of respondents, respectively.
Meanwhile, businesses continue to express mixed opinions about the government’s economic policies: 6% view them positively, 60% maintain a neutral stance, and 25% view them negatively. On a macroeconomic level, labor shortages significantly hinder economic growth.
According to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, the country requires approximately 4.5 million additional workers for stable development. Conversely, nearly 8 million citizens remain economically inactive for various reasons, intensifying competition in the labor market. As a result, average real wages in the private sector have risen rapidly, surpassing pre-war levels.
