In Ukraine, the number of officially employed people decreased by almost 10%. The number of insured persons decreased by 860,000. This is reported by the State Employment Service .
According to the statistics of the Pension Fund, in January-July 2025, 9.857 million insured persons were registered in the State Register of mandatory state social insurance. This is 860 thousand less than in the same period of 2024 (10.717 million). At the same time, the number of employees remained almost unchanged: 9.782 million people against 9.817 million last year.
In the first seven months of 2025, 1.565 million people were hired, while 1.601 million people left their jobs.
“This can be considered a positive trend, because in January-July of last year, the number of dismissed workers exceeded the number of hired workers by 106,000 people”, the message says.
At the same time, the available statistics do not cover all workers in Ukraine. According to the State Statistics Service, in 2021, the employed population aged 15–70 was 15.6 million people. There are currently no more recent data.
Against the background of profound changes in the country’s economy, the problem of structural unemployment is becoming more acute. There is a serious shortage of personnel in many specialties, while a significant part of those looking for work do not have the necessary skills and qualifications.
The greatest shortage of personnel is observed among skilled workers. In particular, this applies to the professions of a seamstress, an electrician repairing electrical equipment, a plumber, an electrician, a track fitter, an emergency repair fitter, a welder, an electric gas welder, an auto fitter, etc.
There is also a significant shortage among doctors of various specialties, including family doctors, therapists, and pediatricians. In addition, due to the conscription of men for military service, it is increasingly difficult to fill jobs that were traditionally occupied by men.
In a labor shortage situation, employers are forced to raise wages to retain workers and attract new ones. In the first quarter of 2025, the average salary of full-time employees was 23.5 thousand hryvnias, which is 25% more than in the first quarter of the previous year.
