According to Libanova, a significant part of jobs previously occupied by mobilized men are now being transferred to women, as well as to older men who are not subject to mobilization. "From the employer's point of view, the ideal employee today is someone who has already turned 60 years old and therefore cannot be drafted into the army," Libanova emphasized.
This situation is becoming a new reality for the labor market. The labor shortage forces companies to actively look for people for those vacancies that could previously be occupied by younger workers. The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine reports that the country currently needs 4.5 million more workers, which underlines the scale of the problem.
Internal migration and demographic changes
In addition to problems with the labor market, the war also affected the demographic structure of the population. Ella Libanova noted that at the beginning of the war, about 1.5 million people left Ukraine. However, migration flows have now stabilized, and there is no significant outflow or return of the population.
It is also important that internal migration has changed the composition of the population of large cities. For example, almost as many people live in Kyiv now as before the war, but now they are mostly immigrants from other regions. "The people of Kyiv left, and their place was taken by people from other districts," Libanova noted.
Economic challenges and wage growth
The situation on the labor market remains difficult. The number of new vacancies is increasing, but the number of applicants for jobs is almost unchanged. This leads to higher wages as employers try to attract the workers they need. However, due to inflation, the real incomes of the population grow much more slowly.
