In Ukraine, 123 thousand people are looking for work, with 221 thousand vacancies available. Women are actively mastering traditionally “male” professions, and the number of working teenagers has doubled.
The labor market in Ukraine is changing, as demand for workers is growing, women are taking up “male” professions, and the number of working teenagers is increasing. As of February 5, 2025, 123 thousand Ukrainians are looking for work, and there are 221 thousand open vacancies. This was reported to UNN by the State Employment Center.
As of February 5, 2025, 123,000 people in Ukraine are looking for work through the State Employment Service, of whom 100,000 are officially registered as unemployed. Despite the fact that the war has significantly affected the labor market, the demand for specialists in various fields remains stable
Last year, 478,000 Ukrainians applied to employment centers for help in finding a job. However, it is difficult to determine the exact level of unemployment, as the State Statistics Service has not conducted relevant research since 2022 due to the military operations.
The largest number of applications to employment centers in 2024 was recorded in large cities. Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhia were the cities where most people were looking for work. This is due to both the economic activity of these regions and the fact that many IDPs appeared in these cities after the outbreak of the war.
Despite the difficulties, there are jobs in Ukraine. As of the beginning of February 2025, the Unified Job Portal has 221,000 offers in various fields.
What professions are most in demand?
Vacancies are distributed among several main areas.
- Trade and services sector
Demand for workers in this industry traditionally remains high. Most employers are looking for:
- There are more than 18 thousand open vacancies for sellers.
- There are 7 thousand administrators.
- There are 5,000 cooks.
- There is also a request for baristas, sales representatives, waiters, security guards, and bakers – 2,000 vacancies in each category.
- Working specialties
Specialists in specific technical and working professions are also in stable demand:
- Drivers – 10 thousand vacancies.
- Locksmiths – 5 thousand.
- Seamstresses, electricians, electricians – 2 thousand open offers each.
- Specialists and professionals
Intellectual labor also remains in demand. The most popular specialties:
- Accountant – 7 thousand vacancies.
- An engineer – 6 thousand.
- Doctors, pharmacists, nurses, mechanics, freight forwarders, teachers, and economists – from 1 to 4 thousand offers in each category.
- Unskilled labor
There are jobs for those without special education or experience, too. Among the most common vacancies:
- Loaders – 4 thousand offers.
- Cleaners and storekeepers – 3 thousand vacancies.
- Auxiliary workers – more than 1 thousand open positions.
Some professions are constantly on the list of the most sought-after due to high staff turnover. For example, salespeople, waiters, baristas, loaders, and general laborers change jobs frequently. In addition, vacancies for accountants, drivers, economists, and lawyers appear regularly
Ukraine continues to experience changes in the labor market related to labor shortages. One of the key reasons for this phenomenon is the conscription of men for military service, which creates difficulties in filling vacancies in traditionally “male” fields.
Construction workers, welders, mechanics, electricians, and drivers are in high demand, but finding enough employees is becoming increasingly difficult.
In such conditions, stereotypes about purely “male” professions are gradually breaking down, and more and more women are mastering specialties that were previously considered inaccessible to them.
The State Employment Center says that in 2024, women started working as machine operators, crane operators, truck drivers, and even locksmiths.
According to official data, last year, there were no women hired for jobs in traditionally male-dominated fields:
- 274 women became woodworking machine operators
- 238 women work as pump operators
- 104 women have mastered the profession of crane operator
- 97 women became mechanical assembly fitters
- 92 women were employed as drivers
- 72 women perform the duties of loaders
- 64 women are employed as operators of CNC machines
- 56 women became locksmiths and repairmen
- 40 women work as underground plant operators
- 27 women operate forklifts
- 25 women have mastered the profession of turner
- 22 women became crane operators at a metallurgical plant
Women are also starting to work in the construction industry, although this process is not yet widespread.
When asked by a UNN journalist whether the number of working teenagers in the employment center is growing, the following answers were given:
According to the State Employment Center, in 2024, 397 minors used the services of the service (in 2023, there were 296 minors). With the assistance of employment centers, 210 adolescents were able to find a job, which is twice as many as in 2023, when there were only 102 such people.
Recall
The Ukrainian economy, although shrinking by a quarter compared to 2021, is outperforming Russia’s for the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022 in a number of key indicators.
