At the moment, the labor market and falling wages, according to analysts, have already passed the zero point of decline.
The number of responses of Ukrainians to open vacancies is exceeds the pre-war level by five times. At the same time, in almost all professional spheres there is a reduction in wages , according to a study by the analytical center of the personnel portal grc.ua.
Analysts note that the labor market has already passed zero mark of complete decline, when at the beginning of the war there were no new vacancies or new resumes.
“As of the beginning of June, those companies that had the opportunity to resume their commercial activities did so. However, there are far fewer jobs than those who want to get it. The labor market is in the state of the employer's market. Employers were also negatively affected by the war. Part of the economy is still not working, the commercial activity of a large proportion of companies has not returned to the previous level, so the business optimizes costs and very often reduces the salaries of both current and new employees, “- say experts.
At the same time, the reduction of salaries does not always depend on the demand for professions. For example, sales, builders, transport professionals and workers are now among the most in demand, but their average wages have also fallen.
The general trend of declining wages has not yet affected only a few professional fields. These include senior management, agriculture, medicine and pharmaceuticals, marketing, advertising and PR. Wages in the IT sector were almost unaffected by the war.
“In the conditions of uncertainty and unstable economy, it is still impossible to return to the pre-war level of salaries in all professional spheres. The longer the war lasts, the more difficult it will be to restore both business and the economy as a whole. According to the most optimistic forecasts, the recovery of income to the pre-war level will take 3-5 years, “analysts emphasize.
The situation will be facilitated, firstly, by the return of qualified specialists to Ukraine, and secondly, by the financial assistance that foreign partners can provide to the Ukrainian economy.
However, the experience of overcoming the 2014 crisis has shown that return of salaries to the previous figures is possible only in hryvnia. After the fall at the beginning of the war, positive trends of stabilization and growth were recorded only in the first half of 2016. But the approximation of wages to the level of 2013 in dollar terms took place only in 2019/2020, before the labor market fell into another crisis. because business has adapted to the new conditions of war.
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Monthly expenditures of Ukraine during the war exceed 200 billion UAH , while the budget receives UAH 54-56 billion from taxes. At the same time, most of the funds go to the army and military needs, as well as the payment of mandatory social guarantees.
