On 26 December 2022, a public discussion “Chronicle of Russia’s war against Ukraine: what is Happening in the Ukrainian Labor Market in the SME Sector” was held as part of an initiative of Working Group 5 of the Ukrainian National Platform.
The purpose of that public event was to discuss the aspects of operation of the labour market in Ukraine in the SME sector and tools used to analyse the situation and to develop a labour market management system.
Valerii Repin, the Kharkiv Regional Organization of the Professional Union of Entrepreneurs (Working Group 5 of the Ukrainian National Platform):
The war turned the lives of Ukrainian citizens and businesses upside down. Both individuals and businesses were initially shocked by these terrible events, but later began to recover and to adapt to new conditions. There are a huge number of applicants. The average number of applications for a vacant job increased several times. The most common problems faced by Ukrainian specialists when looking for a job include a decrease in the number of decently paid vacant jobs for a given profession as well as the impossibility of finding a job with a decent salary due to the fact that salaries in the profession and in the labour market in general have significantly decreased. In addition, employers have become more demanding for candidates. The labour market has become an “employer’s market”.
Stabilization of the labour market in the post-war period is an extremely important task. Although the labour market figures change at a frantic pace both from regional and sectoral perspectives, it is necessary to address this issue today and to develop nationwide programmes to stabilize the situation in the post-war period.
During the event, the findings of an analysis of the labour market in the SME sector in the conditions of military aggression, as conducted by a group of authors as part of the initiative titled ‘Chronicle of Russia’s war against Ukraine: what is Happening in the Ukrainian Labor Market in the SME Sector ‘, were presented.
The discussion of the document was attended by the representatives of regional employment centres: Anatolii Ivanovych Tolstykh, Deputy Director and Head of Statistics and Forecasts of the Kharkiv Regional Employment Centre, representatives of the Public Council at the Kharkiv Region Headquarters of the State Tax Service, members of Working Group 5 of the UNP EaP CSF, the authors of an analytical paper and other independent experts.
Speakers:
- Valerii Repin, the Kharkiv Region Organization of the Trade Union of Entrepreneurs
- Anatolii Ivanovych Tolstykh, Deputy Director and Head of Statistics and Forecasts of the Kharkiv Region Employment Centre
- Viacheslav Roi, the Federation of Trade Unions of Small and Medium Businesses of Ukraine
- Ihor Dubrovskyi, Centre for Social Security and Regional Initiatives
- Oleh Vernyk, Labour Protection, an all-Ukrainian trade union
The public event allowed its participants to discuss the results of the research with the participation of the representatives of regional authorities, social partners, and public organizations researching the labour market, and independent experts and scholars.
Following the public discussion, the text of the analytical document was sent to the central government authorities responsible for the regulation of business activities and the labour market—the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on Social Policy and the Protection of Veterans’ Rights.
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initiative ‘Chronicle of Russia’s war against Ukraine: what is Happening in the Ukrainian Labor Market in the SME Sector
The initiative is implemented within the framework of the project “Support to the activities of the UNP EaP CSF in 2021-2023”, funded by the European Union, the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum and implemented by the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting
