New Format: Labor Market 2026. Staff Shortage, Wage Pressure, and the Battle for Qualified Employees
The Ukrainian labor market is entering 2026 with clear trends dictated by war, changes in the economic structure, and global challenges. Among them, the main one is the staff shortage a problem that, despite all the efforts of businesses, not only fails to disappear but also deepens. Most employers 74% acknowledge a significant lack of workers, another 21% of companies report a partial shortage, and only 5% do not have difficulties finding staff. The greatest shortage is seen among workers and technical specialists, as well as narrow-profile professionals with knowledge of English, sales managers, and middle management. A separate issue is the outflow of youth aged 18-22, which has already been felt by 46% of companies.
Despite the difficulties, support for employees remains key. In 2025, 94% of employers fully paid salaries, and 86% paid bonuses. Businesses also invest in training: more than half of the companies offered educational courses, and most provided psychological support. In a number of companies, additional compensations are spreading from housing rent and international medical insurance to electricity and internet compensation. Compared to 2024, the level of support has slightly decreased (then 98% paid salaries, 84% bonuses, and 56% invested in team development), but the trend toward caring for staff remains.
The main trends of 2025 remain relevant for 2026: labor shortages, rising salary expectations, the impact of mobilization, difficulties in reserving employees, and increased staff turnover. For many companies, emotional burnout is an acute issue: a third of businesses acknowledge a high level of burnout in teams, although most assess it as moderate. 87% of companies have already implemented or plan to implement mental health support programs. At the same time, not all employers believe they cope with this challenge at a sufficient level.
Remote work has become a common phenomenon, though not in all sectors. In 2025, 22% of companies allowed all employees to work remotely, another 60% certain categories of staff. But there is also a trend toward returning to the office: the share of companies working exclusively from the office increased from 12% to 18%. Manufacturing, trade, logistics, and service specialties have almost no opportunity for remote work. The regional breakdown confirms the unevenness of the situation. The most vacancies in 2025 were submitted in Lviv region (almost 50,000), Dnipropetrovsk region (over 30,000), and the highest vacancy fill rate over 80% was shown by Donetsk and Ivano-Frankivsk employment centers. Top professions are auxiliary workers, salespeople, drivers, sales consultants, cooks. From January to October 2025, employers submitted almost 400,000 vacancies 14% more than last year and provided jobs to over 330,000 clients of the employment service.
Business plans for 2026 clearly reflect the ongoing trend of increasing salaries. 94% of companies plan to increase pay, mainly within 5-15%. 36% of companies intend to increase staff numbers, 55% to keep current levels. Employers are investing more in training, developing the multifunctionality of personnel, and seeking new markets. At the same time, only 6% of companies do not consider raising wages, and the four-day workweek is hardly planned anywhere.
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The Ukrainian labor market is entering 2026 with a chronic staff shortage and inevitable increases in personnel costs. Businesses are not simply adapting to realities but are forced to compete for workers by offering not only money but also conditions for development, mental stability, and work-life balance. New approaches to talent management are no longer a competitive advantage but a question of survival for companies in various industries.
The price of error or lagging behind is not just lost profit but also a loss of growth pace, increased internal competition, higher turnover, and a threat to reputation. This problem can only be solved systematically by investing in staff, implementing modern HR practices, expanding training horizons, providing psychological support, and ensuring flexibility in work approaches. Ahead lies a new year in which the battle for qualified employees becomes the main struggle for the entire Ukrainian business sector.
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